It Still Works
by meg121186
Summary: [Sequel to That Part Always Worked.] Post-finale Rory and Jess fic. Picks up one year after the end of That Part Always Worked!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing except for Rory's friends, Kara and Lacey. Gilmore Girl's belongs to the brilliant Palladino's.

 **AN:** Hey guys, welcome to It Still Works, the sequel to That Part Always Worked. To catch you up, if it's been awhile since you read That Part Always Worked. This is a post finale, Literati. Rory and Jess get together again after Rory takes a job working at _The Philadelphia Inquirer_. This story picks up a year after the end of That Part Always Worked. Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 1: "Happy Anniversary, Dodger!"

* * *

"Can you zip me up?" Rory asked her husband as she walked out of the bathroom of their suite at The Plaza, "Jess!"

"Huh," he said, turning around in his seat at the desk in their room.

"What are you so focused on?" she asked when he zipped up her dress and turned back around to continue reading and marking the pages in front of him, "Tell me that's not work? It's our anniversary weekend, Jess. We agreed we wouldn't do any work!"

It had been a year since they stood on their bridge and said their vows. They were as in love with each other now as they were that beautiful May day, if not more. Their first year together as husband and wife, while incredibly happy and filled with love, did not come without its challenges. The first came just a week after they returned from their honeymoon.

There was a literature conference in Austin for new authors looking to get published. Matt and Chris were supposed to attend and check out potential authors for Truncheon while Jess stayed in Philadelphia running the store with the college students they hired to help them for the summer. However, the day before they were scheduled to leave, Chris came down with the flu. As he was unable to attend and Matt didn't want to go alone, Jess had to go. And since she had just been off work for several weeks for their wedding and honeymoon, Rory couldn't go with him; neither of them looking forward to spending an entire week apart.

The second challenge came just after the new year. They had been married for seven months and throughout that time and the three years they had been back together, they had never had a major argument. Just after the new year, Rory was offered the opportunity to accompany _The Inquirer_ 's political reporter overseas to report on the current state of the Iran-European Union relationship. They were going to spend time in both Europe and Iran as they interviewed various political figures and locals.

Jess wasn't thrilled with the idea of Rory going overseas, but new being an overseas correspondent had always been her dream, but he was less thrilled with her traveling companion; an attractive, single man in his thirties. Rory laughing at Jess' jealousy incited an argument until Rory was able to get Jess calmed down enough to tell him that while she appreciated his concern he didn't have to worry because if Daniel were interested in either of them it would be him.

"It's not work, well not technically," Jess told her, bringing Rory out of her thoughts of their first year of marriage, "I got inspired to write another Hunter story and I had to get it down."

"Well, I'm glad we're not staying in the _Eloise_ suite," Rory said with a laugh, moving to stand behind him, running her fingers through his hair before wrapping her arms around his back, "And while I can't wait to read it, we need to get going if we're going to make our reservations."

"Right. I'll just be a minute," he said, rising from his seat to wrap his arms around her and kiss her, "Mmm. Happy Anniversary, Book Tease!"

"Happy Anniversary, Dodger!"

* * *

After Jess got dressed and Rory finished her makeup, they got into the car Jess rented for the evening. They arrived at Uncle Jack's Steakhouse a few minutes later and were immediately escorted to their private table where the hostess poured them each a glass of the champagne that was chilling and waiting for them. Once they had perused the menu a bit Jess ordered them a bottle of red wine and the wagyu kobe meatballs to start while they decided what else they wanted to eat.

"I honestly don't care what steak we get as long as we get steak," Rory told him, "And I get sweet potato fries."

"You and your sweet potato fries," he said with a laugh.

"Hey, it's the only way to get me to willingly eat something good for me," she said.

"True, so any chance I can talk you into sharing a salad with me?" Jess asked.

"Green stuff, yuck," Rory told him.

"Some green stuff. I was thinking the lobster avocado salad," he said.

"Mmm, yum, lobster," she said.

"And you like avocado," he reminded her.

"Yeah, in guacamole," she said.

"It's basically the same thing," he said.

"I guess, okay so we've got the meatballs, this salad thing, my sweet potato fries, now what about the steak?" Rory asked.

"Want to do the porterhouse for two?" Jess asked, "And in addition to your sweet potato fries we can get the five cheese mac and cheese?"

"Perfect," Rory said, "Are we staying for dessert?"

"Nope," he told her with a smile, "I have plans for that."

When the waiter came with the meatballs they ordered they feasted on them while waiting for their salad and the rest of their meal to arrive. Rory surprisingly ate more of the salad than Jess did and unsurprisingly ate all of the sweet potato fries before Jess had a chance to take even one.

"This food is amazing. I know they are really well known for their service and get a lot of reviews on it," Rory said.

"Which has been amazing," Jess said. He had never been in a restaurant anywhere in the U.S. or any of the one's they went to Europe that gave him such attentive service.

"Yeah, but the food is really good, too. This steak is incredible," Rory said, taking another bite.

Once they had finished their meal, Jess paid their bill and took Rory's hand as they walked back out to the awaiting car to go to Serendipity 3.

"I've always wanted to come here," Rory said as they walked into the building.

"Why don't you take a seat and I'll be with you in a minute," Jess said.

"Okay," Rory said, a little confused as she watched Jess speak to someone who looked like the manager before joining her at their table, "What was that about?"

"Nothing, just letting him know we were here," Jess said.

"Why?"

"So they could bring our dessert out."

"But we haven't even looked at the menu yet."

"I know. I ordered our dessert a couple days ago."

"A couple days...Jess!"

"What?"

"You ordered the Golden Opulence Sundae!"

"I did. Are you happy?"

"Happy? I'm ecstatic. I can't believe this. I've wanted to try this sundae ever since I first read about it," she said, "Mom is going to hate me for having this without her."

"Well, you know one day when we plan a trip to Stars Hollow you can order it before we go and the two of you can make a day of it while Luke and I watch Hunter," he said.

"That would be great," Rory said as she watched them bring their sundae over, "Wow!"

"Happy Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Mariano," their server said, setting the crystal glass of decadent vanilla ice cream in front of them.

"This looks incredible," Rory said, "It's almost too pretty to eat."

"Too pretty to eat?" Jess questioned.

"I did say almost," she reminded me.

"True, okay, ladies first," he said, handing her a spoon before picking up his own, watching her face as she moaned with her first bite.

"Mmmm, sooo good," Rory said as she licked the excess chocolate off her spoon.

"Should I be jealous of a sundae?" Jess asked with a laugh, "I'm never seen you react like that to me."

"Oh hush and eat the sundae," she said, digging her spoon in for another bite.

* * *

After finishing their sundae, Rory and Jess went back to The Plaza to exchange their first gifts before enjoying the rest of the evening in bed together.

"Okay so I have two gifts for you," Jess said when they were back in their room and sitting on the sofa in the living room, "I'll give you the second on our actual anniversary on Monday."

"That's funny," Rory said, grabbing her gift for Jess from the closet before joining him, "I have two gifts for you, too."

"Am I getting both today?" he asked.

"Nope. I'm saving the best gift for Monday," she said.

"The best gift, huh," he said.

"Yep. Though, this one is pretty great, too," she said, handing him the bag with her gift for him in it, "Happy Anniversary, Jess."

"Happy Anniversary, Rory," he said, kissing her before handing her his gift for her so they could open them together.

They laughed as they opened them, revealing that they once again gave each other a book. It worked for them. They shared a love of literature and paper was the traditional first anniversary gift.

" _The Holy Barbarians_ ," Rory said, fingering the title of the book Jess gave her.

"I never did return your copy," Jess said, "And it may have been lost somewhere in all my moving around so I figured it was time I replaced it."

"Thank you. I love it," she said giving him a kiss before flipping through the pages and taking note of the date of publication and finding it is in fact a first edition as she suspected, but shocked when she reached the title page and saw that it was signed, "Wow, Jess. This is so great. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, loving the look of euphoria on her face and nearly forgetting about the book that lay in his lap until she nudged him to really look at it, " _Oliver Twist_."

"Of course. A little Dodger for my Dodger," she said as he thumbed through the delicate pages of the first edition copy of one of their favorite books.

"Thank you," he said, taking her book and his, placing them on the coffee table so he could kiss her fully, "I love you."

"I love you, too," she said, pressing her lips to his as he laid them down on the sofa before moving his lips to her neck.

* * *

After a night of lovemaking, Sunday was spent leisurely enjoying the city. Since they were close to Central Park they spent some the morning there walking and enjoying the zoo, as well as several hot dogs from the cart across the street from the hotel. They finished out the day in their park before going to the hotel for the night.

Monday morning Rory was woken up by the feel of Jess' mouth on her skin as he kissed every exposed inch; her lips, cheeks, neck, and her shoulder before moving down to kiss and bite each toe before kissing up each leg, stopping at her thighs.

"Happy Anniversary, Mrs. Mariano," Jess said leaning up to kiss her mouth.

"Happy Anniversary, Mr. Mariano," Rory said, running her fingers through his hair as he kissed her neck and bit her ear, pushing his hands up underneath her nightgown, "Mmm, Jess?"

"What do you need, Rory?" he asked, running his fingertips along the outside of her underwear as he took hold of the nightgown in his other hand, slowly lifting it up over her head.

"I need you, Jess. I need you so much," she said, grabbing the back of his head and forcing his lips on hers, plunging her tongue into his mouth while she used her toes to push his boxers away from his body.

After a second round in the shower they headed out for the day, stopping at a bakery to get coffee and danishes before Jess led them to his surprise destination.

"Okay, so seeing as how we are already married, I know you're not pulling a _Sweet Home Alabama_ ," Rory said as they stood outside the flagship store for Tiffany's.

"That's true and though I'll happily let you pick whatever you want I do already have something picked out for you, but I thought first you'd like to enjoy your breakfast," Jess told her, handing her the bag with the danishes as they walked inside.

"My breakfast?" she questioned, "Oh. At Tiffany's. You're too much, you know that."

"I try," he said, kissing her cheek before sitting down at the table by the window so they could watch the people walking down fifth avenue as they ate their danishes

* * *

"So are you ready for your next gift?" Jess asked a few minutes later as they finished up their danishes and coffee.

"Absolutely," Rory said, taking his hand as he led her to a nearby case.

"Okay, so as you know, paper is the traditional gift for the one year anniversary," he began, "Which we both covered by getting each other books, but I'd like to take it a step further."

"Here you are, Mr. Mariano," a salesgirl told him, handing him the little blue box with Rory's gift in it.

"Thank you," he said, before handing the box to Rory.

"Oh, Jess, it's beautiful," Rory said, taking out the sterling silver chain with a sterling silver envelope engraved with her initials, RGM, along with the Tiffany's address, hanging from the chain, "Will you put it on me?"

"Sure," he said, taking the necklace from her, placing it around her neck when she turned around, kissing it before he closed the clasp.

"It's perfect," she said, leaning up on her toes to kiss him, "Thank you."

"Anything for you, Ror," he said.

"Now, for your second present, how about we take one of those carriage rides," Rory said, "It's been years since we did that."

"Ten to be exact," he said, recalling their carriage ride through Stars Hollow not long after he moved to that crazy town.

* * *

A few minutes into their carriage ride, Rory laid her head on Jess' shoulder and pulled an envelope out of her pocket. It wasn't sealed and there was no return address or addressee to indicate what it was or who it was from.

"I guess we're really on point this year, huh," Rory said, handing the envelope to Jess, "We both gave each other books and an envelope."

"Though you can't open the one I gave you," he said, removing his arm from around her shoulders to look at the contents of the envelope, pulling out a single sheet of paper, reading it several times before turning to Rory with a smile, "Is this for real?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: "Have you been sneaking some of Mom's coffee?"

* * *

Jess couldn't believe it as he looked again at the words on the page Rory gave him before placing the page back in the envelope and sticking it in his pocket so he could take her in his arms and kiss her.

"This is for real. We're really doing this?" he asked.

"Yes, it's for real. I had an appointment a few days ago," Rory told him with a smile, "I am officially off birth control."

"This is amazing," Jess said, kissing her again, "Does this mean we could be pregnant already?"

"Technically, yes since I've been off it for about a week now, but I was on it for so long it could take awhile," she told him.

"This is the best gift you could have given me Rory. Thank you," Jess said, "You've given me the chance to be a father."

"I love you so much," she said, placing her hand on his cheek as he wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"I love you too," he said before wrapping his arms around her once again to kiss her.

Pulling away, she looked up at him from behind her eyelashes, "You want to head back to the hotel and start trying to make a baby?"

"Absolutely."

They spent the rest of their anniversary locked up in their suite at The Plaza, leaving each others arms solely to use the bathroom. Tuesday morning they checked out and went home to Philly. While Jess spent the rest of the day working on his latest Hunter story, Rory was getting her column ready for the week.

As much as she always wanted to be an overseas correspondent and enjoyed working with Daniel when the opportunity came up, she realized she was better suited to staying stateside to report the news. There was plenty to report on in her own backyard and she missed her husband terribly the ten days she was gone. Plus with them wanting to start a family, she wanted to be close to her mom and their friends when that day came so when Michael offered her, her own weekly column in addition to the articles she would write, Rory jumped at the chance. Now every Friday, the people of Philadelphia could turn to the second page and read what was going on in the city or the surrounding area, _As Told By Rory_.

* * *

"You have everything you need?" Jess asked as they prepared themselves to leave for Stars Hollow a few months later. Hunter had just turned two and they were going to Stars Hollow for his birthday party.

They were still trying to start their own family, but were so far unsuccessful.

"Are we telling anyone we're trying to have a baby?" Jess asked her once they were in the car.

"No, I've thought about telling Mom every time I talk to her, but I really don't want people to know anything until there is something to tell," Rory said.

"Right, makes sense," he said.

"I just don't want to get anyone's hope's up," Rory said, "We've been trying since our anniversary and so far it's been one negative test after another."

"It will happen, Ror. It just takes time," he told her, giving her hand a squeeze before kissing her knuckles.

"I know, I just…" she began.

"I know, babe. I want it too. We just have to be patient," he said.

"Patient is not a word in the Gilmore vocabulary," she said, turning her head to look out the window, "What if something's wrong with me and that's why we haven't gotten pregnant yet?"

"There's nothing wrong with you Rory. Your doctor told you that. She told you before when we first thought you were pregnant, she told you when you went into your appointment to come off birth control," he said, "And she's told you every time you've gone to see her or talk to her since then."

"But what if she missed something," Rory said.

"Rory. She's been doing this a long time. She knows what she's doing. And if she missed something she would be in for one hell of a lawsuit," he told her.

"I guess you're right," she said, "We just have to keep trying."

* * *

When they arrived in Stars Hollow a few hours later, they were immediately attacked by Hunter who ran to them, grabbing one of their hands in each of his as he pulled them further into the diner and began telling them all about his party that weekend.

"Hunter, sweetie give Rory and Jess a chance to sit and relax," Lorelai told her bouncing two year old son as he jumped up and down in front of his sister and cousin rambling like only a Gilmore could.

"Yeah, give us five minutes buddy and we're all yours," Jess told him, taking out his phone and finding a favorite song of Hunter's, "When the song is over our attention is yours."

"Okay," Hunter said, sadly, but quickly smiling as the sounds of The Clash came through the earbuds Jess placed in his ears.

* * *

Five minutes later the song was over and Hunter pulled the earbuds out of his ears the second he saw Rory and Jess coming down the stairs from the diner apartment after taking their bags up.

"So, what are we going to do today, buddy?" Jess asked him, picking up to sit him on his lap after he and Rory sat down.

"Play!" Hunter exclaimed.

"Of course. I should have known," Jess said, ruffling the toddler's hair, and getting his hand swatted away.

"How about we take you to the park to play before we have to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner," Rory told him

"Yay!" Hunter yelled, clapping his hands together before throwing himself into his sister's arms.

"Luke can you pack us some snacks and coffee and we'll get the little jumping bean out of here?" Jess asked.

"Sure, it will just be a minute," Luke said, smiling at his son, bouncing up and down on his sister's leg, playing drums with the silverware, "He spends too much time with Lane."

* * *

After an afternoon spent chasing Hunter around the park and their first Friday Night Dinner in months, Rory and Jess were exhausted and ready to fall into bed the minute that back to the diner that night.

Saturday morning came earlier than they planned as Hunter came barrelling into the apartment at six in the morning since he woke up early and decided to come with Luke while he opened up the diner.

"It's party day!" Hunter shouted, jumping on top of Jess' chest as Rory tried to bury herself deeper into Jess' side, covering her head with the blanket.

"Hunter, it's too early for you to be this excited," Rory said, "Have you been sneaking some of Mom's coffee?"

"Coffee yum!" he said.

"Oh, boy," Rory said, tossing the blanket aside and climbing out of the bed, "We may as well get up, he's not going to stop until we do."

"Are we sure about this whole baby thing?" Jess asked, picking up the jumping toddler, hoisting him up over his shoulder.

"Absolutely," Rory said, "They won't always be this crazy. He's just really excited to see us since it's been so long."

"True, we haven't been here since Lorelai's birthday and that was in April. Plus I guess if our baby is anything like Hunter then it will be great," he said, running his fingers through her hair to kiss her as Hunter continued to kick his legs that were near Jess' face.

"Well since I share DNA with my mother and you share DNA with Luke there is a very good chance," Rory said.

"Right. Well, why don't you get ready while I take the monkey downstairs," Jess said of Hunter who had now wiggled out of Jess' arms and was now trying to climb up Jess' back so he could sit on his shoulders, "Let's go buddy."

"Weee!" Hunter yelled as Jess lifted him and placed him on his shoulders before walking downstairs to the diner, "Hey, Luke."

"Morning, sorry if he woke you. He ran up there before I had a chance to stop him and then Kirk came in so…" Luke said.

"It's fine, but if we're going to keep this guy busy while everyone is getting things ready for his party, Rory and I need to get ready first," Jess said, setting Hunter down on a chair at the table closest to the counter so Luke could watch him while he continued to work.

"No problem. I'll feed him and get food going for when you and Rory come down," Luke said.

"Thanks. We won't be long," Jess told him, before heading back upstairs to get ready for the day.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone in town was gathered at Miss Patty's to celebrate the second birthday of Hunter William Danes.

"Wow," he said, when he walked in with Rory and Jess and saw the walls covered in stars and almost everything was red, white, and blue, "Cap-Cap!"

"What?" Jess asked Rory.

"Captain America. Mom took him to see The Avengers when it came out a few months ago and ever since he is obsessed with Captain America," Rory explained.

"Cap-Cap!" Hunter said again, running from Rory and Jess towards his mother who was holding a shield and mask in her hand for Hunter to put on.

"You ready to be Captain America today?" Lorelai asked.

"Yay!" he exclaimed as Lorelai put the mask over his face and handed him the shield.

"Happy Birthday, Baby Boy," Lorelai said, kissing his cheek before he ran off to play with Steve and Kwan who were dressed as Iron Man and Thor while Lorelai went off to help Sookie finish setting up the food.

As the party went on they ate Sookie's delicious food and cookies she made in the shape of Captain America's shield and Thor's hammer. While Lorelai had a few games planned, the kids were all content running around in their costumes pretending to save the world from Kirk who volunteered to dress up as Loki. When Lorelai saw Hunter beginning to get tired, she asked him if he wanted to take a break from playing to open up all his presents.

"Yay, present's," he said, running off to grab Jess so he would sit by him as he opened them.

"I guess somebody has a favorite," Lorelai said with a laugh as she and Luke began handing the presents to Jess so he could assist Hunter if he needed help opening them.

"Jesse, help," Hunter said, handing the first package back to Jess to help him since he couldn't tear through the paper and was unable to unstick the tape.

"Who wraps a two year old's birthday present with duct tape?" Jess asked as he too struggled a bit to get the present open, "Here, try another while I find something to cut through this tape."

"Sorry, Mother was out of scotch tape and duct tape was all I had," Kirk told Lorelai when she opened the card attached to the package and gave him a look when she read it was from him.

As Hunter continued to open his presents he received several toys, a lot of them Captain America or other Avengers; clothes with different superheroes on them, as well as some books from Rory and Jess to add to the collection they started on his first birthday.

"I have one more book for you, buddy," Jess said, handing him a small wrapped square package, "So far it's the only one of it's kind and it's just for you."

"What's it say?" Hunter asked when he tore through the paper and looked at the cover, seeing a little boy with a crown and a sword, standing in front of a tall sandcastle.

" _Prince Hunter and the Sandcastle Dragon_ ," Jess told him.

"Hunter like me?" he asked.

"Yes, Hunter like you. I wrote this for you, buddy," Jess said, "Do you like it?"

"Read it?" Hunter asked.

"How about tonight before bed," Jess suggested, "I'll come over to the house, tuck you in, and read this for your bed time story. How's that?"

"Yes," Hunter said, giving Jess a hug before taking his new special book to show all his friends.

"You never told me you published one of your Hunter stories," Rory said, taking a seat on Jess' lap, placing her arm around his neck, "I mean, I knew you were writing them. You've been writing them since he was a baby."

"I know. I wanted it to be a surprise for his birthday and if you knew then there was a good chance Lorelai would know and tell everyone," Jess said.

"You think I can't keep a secret from my mother?" Rory asked with a laugh.

"Sometimes, there isn't much you don't tell each other," he said.

"True, but I can keep a secret when it's really important," she reminded him, leaning her forehead against his and lightly kissing his lips.

* * *

That night while Rory and Lorelai were in the living room watching a movie, Jess sat in the rocking chair in Hunter's room with the toddler in his lap as he read him the pages of _Prince Hunter and the Sandcastle Dragon_. Just as he was nearing the end of the book, Rory walked into the kitchen to refill her cup of coffee and stopped to listen to Jess read the last few lines.

 _And with one last wave of his ruby-encrusted sword, Prince Hunter defeated the dragon that threatened his kingdom and saved the princess;_

 _earning himself a kiss on the cheek from the beautiful Princess Lily before she returned to her home in the next town._

 _"Thank you, Prince Hunter," she said, "Thank you for saving me."_

 _"Anytime Princess Lily," he said, kissing her hand, "Until we meet again."_

"The end," Jess said, closing the book and looking down at the boy in his arms, fighting to stay awake, "Time for bed Prince Hunter."

"Read again, Jesse," Hunter mumbled, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Nope, sorry, kid," Jess said, standing up with Hunter in his arms, carrying him to his bed, "One bed time story per night."

"Okay," Hunter grumbled, laying his head on the pillow and allowing Jess to cover him up, "Night Jess. Love you."

"I love you too, buddy," Jess said, kissing his forehead as he closed his eyes, "Good night, Hunter."

* * *

 **AN:** Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the first chapter and is now following this story. I know a lot of you thought Rory was pregnant already and I'm sorry if you're disappointed that she's not, but it will happen. I have specific plans for Rory's first pregnancy so while she will get pregnant, it will be a few chapters before that happens.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: "The bed's not the same without you,"

* * *

Now that Hunter had his copy, Truncheon began printing copies of _Prince Hunter and the Sandcastle Dragon_ as soon as Jess and Rory got home from Stars Hollow after Hunter's birthday. And a week after it was released bookstores and libraries across the country were calling Truncheon, begging to have Jess come and read his story to the children who came to their story times.

"You have to do this Jess," Rory told him as they made dinner together. He told her about the possible book tour the moment he came home, but also told her he wasn't interested in leaving her again for three weeks, "It's a wonderful opportunity to share your voice with a whole new generation."

"I know, but three weeks, Rory. That conference was only a week and your trip overseas was only ten days," he told her, "How are we going to survive being apart for three weeks?"

"The same way we did the last time you had a book tour I couldn't join you on," she told him, wrapping her arms around him; kissing his neck before biting and sucking on his earlobe, "Think of how intense it will be after three weeks of foreplay."

"Mmm, that does sound appealing," Jess said, reaching behind her to turn off the oven and the burners they had going on the stove.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Getting my fill of you before I have to leave you," he said, picking her up in his arms, carrying her up the stairs to their bedroom.

* * *

The Sunday before Labor Day, Jess boarded a plane for California where he would start his book tour. He would travel the country for three weeks before coming home on the twenty-second.

"Don't forget to call me when you land," Rory told him.

"Promise," he said, laying his forehead against hers, kissing the tip of her nose.

"And say hi to Lily for me," she said.

"I will. Seeing her should be interesting now that she's inspired a character in one of my books," Jess said.

"She hasn't said anything to you about it?" Rory asked.

"Nope. I sent her a copy as soon as the guys started printing them," he said, "But she hasn't called me about it other than to tell me she liked it."

"You didn't ask what she thought?" she asked.

"No, it seemed awkward to so I'll wait and see what she has to say when I see her in person," Jess told her, "Alright, so I guess I better go."

"I wish you didn't have to," Rory said, wrapping her arms around him, holding him tight to her, "I'm going to miss you so much."

"Hey, it's only three weeks," he said, kissing her forehead and wiping the tears that fell, "And when I get back we'll go at it like rabbits until we get you pregnant."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Rory said with a laugh, kissing him deeply with everything she had, "I love you, Jess."

"I love you, too, Rory," he said, "See you in three weeks?"

"Three weeks. Bye, Jess."

"Bye, Rory."

* * *

As soon as Jess left, Rory found herself extremely busy at the paper. The London Olympics ended a few weeks earlier and while the paper reported all the facts of who won what medals and in what events they also wanted to do some features on some of the local athletes. One reporter was tasked with interviewing and writing up a story on Allison Schmitt. Though she grew up in Michigan, the three time gold medalist was born in Pittsburgh.

When everyone started submitting their requests for athletes they wanted to interview, Rory immediately asked if she could interview bronze medal rower, Glenn Ochal. As a fellow Ivy Leaguer, a Princeton graduate, Rory was curious to get to know the Philly native turned Olympic athlete.

As soon as they sat down in Gunner's Run, a pub in the northern part of Philly, Rory quickly learned some of his family's roots to the city. Roots that dated back several generations.

"My grandfather worked at Schmidt's Brewery when it was still in existence," Glenn told her.

"So that's why you picked this place," Rory said, "The brewery used to be here."

"Yeah and I like to come here from time to time. It makes me feel close to my family's history," he said.

As they continued their lunch and interview Glenn told Rory more about his family, his parents and siblings. He also told her about his interests outside of rowing. He played football before giving it up for rowing and is a big fan of the Philadelphia teams the Eagles and Phillies. He also enjoys playing beach volleyball and horse shoes.

"Horse shoes, really?" Rory asked.

"It can be really fun and competitive," he told her.

"Who knew," Rory said, "Now aside from playing other sports and obviously rowing itself, what else do you do to keep yourself in shape?"

"I run the Rocky steps," he said.

"Seriously?" Rory asked.

"Seriously. I'll go for runs and finish by running up and down the steps at least twenty times," Glenn said, "It's really good exercise."

"I'll take your word for it," Rory told him, "My husband got me to do it once and that was more than enough for me."

They finished out their interview with Rory asking him about his time at Princeton. It interested her since he graduated the year after she did to know what it was like because had she chosen Princeton when she got her acceptance letters they could have met and maybe had a class or two together. She also asked about his major, economics, and told him that while she never really had much interest in the subject she did enjoy taking the course her last year at Yale with her grandfather as her professor.

"Your husband, he's the author, right; Jess Mariano?" Glenn asked as they walked from the bar towards her car.

"Yeah, why?" Rory asked him.

"Oh, my girlfriend is a big fan," he said, "Any chance you could snag me an autograph for her?"

"He's out on a book tour right now, but I can give you a call when he comes back. The two of you can stop by Truncheon so she can meet him or join us for dinner or something," Rory told him.

"That would be great. Thanks," he said.

"No problem," Rory said, "I'll see you later then, Glenn. Thanks for the interview."

"Anytime, Rory," he told her.

* * *

"Hey, Dodger," Rory said, answering her phone before putting in on speaker and continuing her typing.

"Am I interrupting something?" Jess asked.

"No, not really. I'm just finishing up my first draft of my article while my interview from today is still fresh in my mind," Rory told him, "Just a few more sentences."

"Who did you interview?" he asked.

"Glenn Ochal," she said.

"He's a rower, right, from the Olympics?" Jess asked

"Yeah. Michael wanted to do some more in-depth articles about the local athletes and since he went to Princeton I asked if I could interview him," Rory told him as she continued to type a bit more before hitting save on the temporarily completed article, "And I'm done."

"So I have your full attention now?" he asked.

"You always have my full attention, Jess," she said.

"Not when you're reading a book that you're really into it," he said.

"Not fair, you're the same way and you know it," she told him.

"True, so how are you?" Jess asked.

"Lonely. Sad. And my back hurts a bit," Rory said.

"Why does your back hurt?" he asked.

"The bed's not the same without you," she told him, "So, I've been sleeping on the couch."

"Rory. You shouldn't do that," Jess told her.

"I can't help it. Even making a Jess-pillow doesn't help," Rory said.

"A Jess-pillow?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I take the pillow you sleep on, cover it with one of your shirts, and snuggle up to it like I would with you if you were here," she told him.

"You are incredibly strange, Gilmore," he told her.

"Gilmore-Mariano," she reminded him.

"Right, so how about you get your laptop put away, get yourself ready for bed and call me back when you are," he told her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Just do it, please," he said, "And get in our bed, not the couch."

"Fine. I'll call you back in a few minutes. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Having some idea of what Jess had in mind, Rory quickly packed up her laptop, placing it by the door so it was ready for her when she left for the paper in the morning. Then after turning off the lights and making sure all the doors were locked, she went upstairs and changed into her nightgown, tossing her underwear into the hamper along with the rest of her clothes. Climbing into bed and pulling the covers over her, Rory laid her head on Jess' pillow, took a deep breath and called her husband; positive that after this phone call, sleeping without him next to her would be a little easier tonight.

* * *

The rest of the three weeks flew by a lot quicker than either Rory or Jess originally thought they would as she was busy with articles and even on occasion helping Matt and Chris out at the store now that the college students they hired over the summer had gone back to school and were unable to work as much; while he was busy going from city to city reading his book to the captive audience of children that sat before him in each store or library he went to.

Before they knew it, the twenty-second had arrived. Jess wasn't due in until the afternoon so Rory took the opportunity to sleep in since it was a Saturday and she had the day off. Rory's sleep, however was interrupted early Saturday morning by the feeling of lips pressing against her forehead.

"Jess?" Rory asked, slowly opening her eyes, fearing it was a dream and jumping up out of the bed when she saw her husband standing at the foot of it changing out of his clothes, "You're here!"

"I'm here," he said, placing a kiss on her lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You're early. You're flight wasn't supposed to get in until this afternoon," she said, returning his kiss and throwing her arms around his shoulders, hugging him close to her.

"Are you complaining?" he asked with a smirk.

"Definitely not," she said before crashing her lips to his as he moved them towards the bed, laying her down beneath him, "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," he said, rubbing their noses together before kissing her again, softly, "Are you ready to go at it like rabbits?"

"Absolutely!"

* * *

 **AN:** And with this chapter we have my first deleted scene. Check it out in the new chapter of my deleted scenes story. I'm keeping all the deleted scenes for this story in with the one's from That Part Always Worked. Enjoy!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: "You're a pretty good reason to get up in the morning, too."

* * *

Two weeks after Jess returned from his book tour it was Rory's birthday. Having just been all over the country, Jess wasn't interested in taking a trip anywhere that weekend and Rory was content just to be able to have her husband by her side again so they decided to spend the weekend at home with movies, takeout, and each other.

"Something smells good," Rory said when she walked into their kitchen Saturday morning, two days before her birthday.

"Hey," Jess said, kissing her when walked up to him, "You're supposed to be in bed."

"Why?" Rory asked.

"Because I can't bring you breakfast in bed if you're in the kitchen," he told her.

"Breakfast in bed, huh," Rory said, "I could be down with that."

"Good, now take your coffee and get back upstairs," Jess told her, handing her a cup and kissing her cheek before turning back to the stove to continue cooking her breakfast.

Ten minutes later, Rory looked up from her old copy of _Howl_ when she heard Jess enter the room carrying a tray full of delicious breakfast food; French toast, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, hash brown potatoes, and a carafe of coffee.

"This all looks so amazing Jess. Thank you," she said, giving him a kiss when he sat down next to her, "You are too sweet for doing this for me."

"Well, it is your birthday weekend," he said, "Don't expect it all the time though. I can only be sweet for so long, you know. Don't want it to ruin my repetition."

"Uh, huh, sure. Gotta protect that bad boy rep," Rory said as she stole a piece of bacon off his plate, having already finished hers.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, quickly grabbing the rest of his bacon before she could take it all.

"I can't help it, it's delicious," she told him.

* * *

After they finished and Jess got the breakfast dishes cleaned up, they set themselves up on the couch in the living room to start their movie marathon. Rory chose all her favorite classics: _Breakfast at Tiffany's, Casablanca, Sabrina_ and curled up on the couch with her head on Jess' shoulder and his arm around her for their day of movie watching.

"This is nice," Rory said as she lay with her head in Jess' lap, his fingers combing through her hair as they watched Sam play for Ilsa.

"Yeah, that is a really good song," Jess said.

"True, but I meant this, us," Rory said, rolling over so she was facing, "This, just being here with you, it's the best feeling in the world."

"I love you," he said, leaning his head down to kiss her.

"I love you, too," she told her, laying her hand on his cheek as she deepened their kiss, but pulled away with a giggle when she heard her stomach growl.

"I guess it's time to feed you again," Jess said, laughing as they got off the couch and headed to the kitchen to make themselves some sandwiches so they could eat them while continuing to watch the movie.

"I sure hope you're cutting up all that fruit for yourself," Rory said when Jess took some strawberries and a pineapple out of the fridge.

"Well, I was thinking I could get you to eat some of it if I fed it to you," he said, cutting the top off a strawberry and pressing it against her lips.

"Mmm, yum," Rory said after taking a bite of the strawberry Jess offered her, kissing his lips to allow him a taste.

"That strawberry taste even better on you," Jess said before offering her a piece of pineapple, "I wonder how that will taste."

"Let's find out," Rory said, taking a bite of the pineapple, being sure she coated her lips in its juice before taking hold of Jess' head and crashing her lips to his.

"Delicious," Jess said, licking his lips after they broke apart, "So sweet."

"We should probably eat these sandwiches while they're still cold," Rory said, stepping back from Jess a bit so she could grab their plates, carrying them to the living room while he grabbed the fruit and drinks.

* * *

For dinner that night Jess ordered Rory her favorite Indian food and Sunday they spent the day browsing their favorite record and book stores before taking a walk around the park and having dinner which Rory insisted needed to be a sampling of Philly Cheesesteaks so she could determine her favorite.

"I can't believe I've lived here for almost four years and this is my first cheesesteak," Rory said, taking a bite of the her sandwich from their first stop, "This is incredible."

"And only your first one. There are many more to try that claim to be the best," Jess told her.

"You think it would cause a riot if I wrote an article about my taste test and gave my opinion on my favorite?" Rory asked.

"A riot, no, but I'm sure a few people would write to the paper and complain," Jess said, "Not that it matters, really. Everyone has their favorite. I don't think anyone will really care if you give your opinion."

"Good, then I'm going to do it," she said, "I may as well put my iron stomach to good use."

"Not a bad idea. Only you and your Mother would be able to sample half the cheesesteaks in Philly in one day," he said.

"So, true," she said, taking another bite, "Hey did I ever tell that, that first Thanksgiving we had together at the diner was actually our third that day?"

"You had three Thanksgiving meals in one day?" he questioned.

"Actually four," she told him.

"Four?" he asked.

"Yep, we went to Lane's first, then Sookie's, the diner, and then my grandparent's," she said.

"How you and Lorelai don't weigh eight hundred pounds is beyond me," Jess said.

"It's the Lorelai Paradox," she told him.

* * *

When Rory woke up for the second time the morning of her birthday, she found the bed empty except for a bouquet of flowers and a note on the pillow next to her.

 _Rory,_

 _I couldn't get back to sleep after Lorelai's four AM wake up call so I went out to get breakfast._

 _I'll be back soon. Happy birthday, Book Tease. I love you!_

 _Jess_

"Sweet Dodger," Rory mumbled to herself, smelling the flowers Jess got her before rolling back over to sleep some more before Jess came back.

"Happy birthday, Angel," Jess whispered in Rory's ear to wake her up before peppering her face with kisses, "I've got your favorite French toast."

"French toast?" Rory said, opening her eyes to find Jess standing before her, a tray on the nightstand next to her with a plate of Sabrina Cafe's stuffed French toast, "And their coffee?"

"Of course, but you need to open your eyes and sit up first," he said, noticing she had closed her eyes once again.

"Okay, I guess waking up is worth it for coffee and Sabrina's French toast," she told him, sitting up and adjusting her pillows behind her as he placed a tray on her lap and set her plate on top.

"So you'll only wake up for food and drink, huh?" he asked, kneeling in front of her on the bed to kiss her before she took a bite of her food.

"Well, maybe not just for that," she said, giving him the first bite of her French toast, "You're a pretty good reason to get up in the morning, too."

"You're a pretty good reason, too," he told her, giving her another kiss, "Happy birthday, Rory."

"Thank you."

* * *

They spent the remainder of Rory's birthday lounging around the apartment with Jess pampering her every chance he got by either feeding her bites of the tapas lunch he ordered or massaging her feet as they lay on the couch together watching a movie.

"So, what are your plans for dinner tonight?" Rory asked as she lay on the couch in Jess' arms, his fingers running up and down her back.

"Why, are you getting hungry?" Jess asked.

"I'm the daughter of Lorelai Gilmore," she said, "I'm always hungry."

"True, man it's a good thing I'm good at my job and you have those trust funds," he said, "otherwise we'd go broke trying to keep you fed when you get pregnant."

"Not funny," she told him, "Likely true, but not funny."

"I'm sorry. Okay, so dinner," he said, "I made reservations at a very nice restaurant so why don't you go put on a pretty dress while I clean up in here."

"What restaurant?" she asked.

"Not telling," he said, kissing her on her lips followed by the tip of her nose before releasing his arms from around her waist so she could get up.

"Fine, but I'm grumbling the entire ride there," she told him.

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't," he said.

Twenty minutes later they were out the door and in the car on their way to the restaurant. Another fifteen minutes later and Jess had pulled into the parking lot of Vetri Ristorante.

"Oh, fancy," Rory said, getting out of the car as Jess opened her door for her, "They do a tasting menu right?"

"Uh, huh," Jess said.

"Are we doing different things so we can try a variety?" Rory asked.

"Of course," Jess said, taking her hand and leading her into the restaurant where they were led to their table.

After a delicious first course of spare ribs and scallops, Jess and Rory each tried a different pasta for the next course. Jess ordered the pappardelle with veal ragu while Rory got the almond tortellini with truffle sauce. For the main part of their meal Rory chose the ribeye and Jess chose the porchetta.

"Everything is amazing," Rory told their server when he came out to check on them, "Here, try the ribeye."

"That's delicious," Jess said after swallowing the piece of steak Rory offered him.

"What are thinking for dessert?" Rory asked him.

"They all sound really good," Jess said.

"I know, it's hard to decide, but I think I want the chocolate souffle," Rory told him.

"That will be good. Hopefully I can get a bit before you eat it all," he told her with a laugh.

"You can have a few bites," she told him, "So what are you going to get?"

"I'm thinking the hazelnut flan," Jess said.

"Yum," Rory said.

Once they had finished their main course and before they were brought their dessert, Jess decided to give Rory her present.

"Oh, Jess, it's beautiful," she told him after pulling apart the white ribbon and taking off the lid of the blue box, "I love it. Thank you."

"You're welcome," he told her as she continued to look at the locket in her hand, "I was thinking the other side would be the perfect space for a sonogram or baby picture when we have one."

"Definitely," she said, taking off the necklace she had on to replace it with the locket that held a picture of their first kiss from their wedding, "It's perfect."

"You're perfect," he told her, getting out of his seat to kiss her, "Happy birthday, Rory."

"I love you, Dodger," Rory said, running her hand along his cheek.

"I love you, too, Book Tease," he said.

* * *

After finishing their dessert, they went back home, knowing they shouldn't be out too late since they both had to work the next day after taking the day off so they could be together for Rory's birthday. Once inside, Rory slipped off her shoes, tossing them aside by the door before being quickly lifted into Jess' arms and carried to their bedroom where they spent the remainder of the evening before succumbing to sleep wrapped up in each others arms; worshiping the others body with all the love they had.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: "Gummy bears and popcorn?"

* * *

"Rory, come on, we need to get going if you want a good seat," Jess said checking the time on his watch as he waited for Rory so they could go out to the midnight movie she insisted on seeing, "This was your idea, you know."

The week Jess was gone at the literature conference after their wedding, Rory found herself bored one day and read the entire series of Twilight books after coming across one of the movies on TV. Now she has read all four books multiple times and seen every movie and insisted Jess go with her for the midnight premiere of the fifth and last one.

"I know, sorry, I'm ready now," Rory said, coming out of the bathroom.

"Are you alright? You look a bit flushed," he said, laying a hand on her cheek and forehead, "You're not warm. Did you get sick again?"

"Yes, but it's nothing. I'm fine," she told him.

"You're not fine if you're throwing up, Rory," he said.

"I'm not sick. I feel fine. I guess I just had a little too much cake at work today," she said.

"You had cake at work?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's Daniel's birthday so we threw a little party for him. The cake was really good so I ate three pieces," she said, "I guess I should have stopped with two."

"You think?" Jess asked, "No wonder you got sick. I'm surprised you're not bouncing off the walls after that much sugar."

"Daniel's a health nut so it was carrot cake. Not that much sugar," Rory said.

"You ate carrot cake?" he questioned.

"Yeah, why?" she asked.

"It's just weird," he said.

"I know, but I tried a bite of Kara's first because I figured it would be disgusting," she said, "I mean, dessert is not supposed to have vegetables in it, but I tried it and it tasted good so I decided to have a piece."

"And two more, apparently," he said.

"It was really good," she told him as they walked down the stairs.

"I'm sure it was dear," he said, "But I bet it didn't taste as good the second time."

"Don't be gross, Jess," Rory said.

"Sorry," he told her with a smirk as he helped her put on her coat.

"Thank you, now let's go," she said, "We have candy to buy and lots and lots of popcorn."

"Rory, you just got done throwing up three pieces of cake," Jess said.

"And now I'm hungry. Let's go," she said, walking out the front door of their apartment.

"Gilmore's," he said, shaking his head as he followed her out, locking the door behind him.

* * *

Once they arrived at the theater, Rory quickly got a place in line so they could get good seats as soon as they started letting people into the theater while Jess went to get their popcorn, drinks, and one of every type of candy they had because Rory insisted they needed it.

"Oh, yum, gummy bears," Rory said, taking the bag from Jess along with her soda and popcorn, pouring the gummy bears on top of her bucket of popcorn.

"Gummy bears and popcorn?" Jess asked.

"It tastes yummy," she told him, taking a handful of the popcorn and gummy bears, "You want some?"

"I'm good," he said.

"You're missing out," she said, taking another handful, "It needs some chocolate though. Did you get raisinets?"

"Popcorn, gummy bears, and now you want chocolate covered raisins?" Jess asked.

"Yep. Oh, did you Skittles and Red Hots?" she asked.

"Yeah, you want those on there, too?" Jess asked.

"You bet," she said, dumping half the package of each onto her now half empty bucket of popcorn, "I think I need a refill."

"Take some of mine and I'll go refill my bucket," Jess said, dumping some of his still full bucket into her near empty one.

"Thank you. You're the best," Rory said, kissing his cheek before he left.

* * *

Just before midnight they were allowed into the theater, taking their seats in Rory's favorite spot of the theater, the middle-middle; the middle seat of the middle row.

"Perfect," Rory said, sitting down in her seat, snuggling herself close to Jess when he placed an arm around he after lifting up the armrest between them.

"It is now," Jess said, pulling her closer and kissing the top of her head.

"Damn. Some girls have all the luck," they heard a girl say a couple rows behind them, causing Rory to giggle, "My boyfriend laughed in my face when I asked him to come.

"Mine, too," they heard her friend say, "Lucky girl's got a hottie and he came with her to see a Twilight movie."

Rory and Jess stayed curled up with each other throughout the movie, Jess enjoying a few bites of his popcorn while Rory scarfed her mix of popcorn and movie theater candy. Just after one in the morning, the movie was half over and though she was enjoying it and didn't want to leave, Rory had to get up.

"Jess, I have to…" Rory began, jumping out of her seat, holding a hand to her mouth as she quickly moved past the people in her row to get out of the theater.

Gathering up their things, Jess tossed their popcorn buckets and followed Rory as she ran towards the bathroom.

"Rory, are you alright?" Jess called to her from outside the bathroom.

"Is she your girlfriend?" a theater employee asked as she came out of the bathroom.

"My wife," Jess said, "Can you check on her for me?"

"Sure thing," she said.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Rory had once again emptied the contents of her stomach and made her way back out to Jess, collapsing into his arms as all the throwing up had made her weak.

"You feel any better?" he asked, kissing her forehead to see if it was warm.

"Not really. I'm tired and still feel nauseous even though there is nothing left to throw up," she said.

"Here, I filled it up with ginger ale," he said, handing her, her cup of soda, "I thought it might help settle your stomach."

"Thanks. I don't know what's wrong with me," Rory said.

"Well, I have a thought," Jess told her, placing his arm around her waist as they walked out the theater towards the car, "But we need to stop at the drugstore on the way home to confirm it."

"Confirm wha...oh. Oh!" Rory said, "Oh my gosh. I think you're right. I didn't give it a thought. It was lighter than usual and only lasted a couple of day, but I got my period just after my birthday like I was expecting."

"Didn't Dr. Sanders say that spotting could be an early sign of pregnancy as the egg is implanting?" Jess asked, opening her door for her when they reached the car.

"Yeah, but since it was when I was supposed to get my period I didn't think anything of it," she said, "This explains the carrot cake."

"How does you being pregnant explain the three pieces of carrot cake?" Jess asked.

"Possibly pregnant. We haven't confirmed it yet. And if I am it explains why I liked it and couldn't stop eating it. It's fully of healthy stuff. Gilmore's only eat healthy food when they're pregnant," she explained, "Mom did it with me. She was addicted to apples and the morning she found out she was pregnant with Hunter I found her drinking orange juice."

"So is your addiction going to be carrots or maybe actual sweet potatoes with your obsession with sweet potato fries?" Jess asked.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Rory said.

"I guess we will," he said.

* * *

Thirty minutes later they were home after making a stop at the twenty-four hour drugstore near their apartment waiting on the results of the three pregnancy tests Rory took. Just like the time two years before when they thought she might be pregnant they walked into the bathroom hand in hand to look at the small white sticks that held their future.

"I want to make an appointment with Dr. Sanders to be sure," Rory said as the two them looked down at the single word, happy face, and plus sign that appeared on the tests before them.

"Three tests, Rory. I think you need that appointment for more than just confirmation," Jess told her.

"We're going to have a baby!" Rory said, a smile forming on her face, "This is real. This is really happening."

"It's really happening," Jess said, hugging her close to him before stepping back to lay a hand on her flat stomach, "I can't believe it. There's a baby in there."

"Oh, you'll believe it soon enough. As soon as I weigh ten thousand pounds and I'm as big as a whale," Rory said with a frown.

"Hey. And I'll still love you all the same. Probably more," he said, pulling her back to him, placing a kiss on her forehead, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Rory said, kissing his lips for a second and pulling away to let out a yawn.

"Time to get you two to bed. It's been a long day," Jess said, picking her up in his arms to carry her to their bed.

"Jess, I'm pregnant not disabled," she told him as he set her down on the edge of the bed and began removing her clothes for her, "I can dress myself."

"I know, but I like helping you with this. It allows me the chance to see the changes our son has already made to your body," he told her, running his fingers over her breasts through her bra, noticing it fit a bit tighter than it did the last time she wore this particular bra.

"Our son, huh," she said, "What makes you think it's a boy?"

"Just a guess," he said.

"More like a hope," she said, "You wouldn't know what to do with yourself if we had a girl."

"That's not true. I know exactly what I would do," he told her, handing her a nightgown to put on.

"And what's that?" she asked, starting to lay down after throwing the nightgown over her head.

"Lock her in her room as soon as she hits puberty and home-school her until she's twenty-one," he said.

"And what our son is going to be allowed to just do whatever he wants," she said.

"Of course. I can't ever let our daughter out of my sight. I know what teenage boys are like and I was one of the worst," he said.

"Well, here's hoping we have a boy just to save your sanity," Rory said, laying her head on his chest when he got into bed next to her.

"You know I'll be happy either way, right? So long as you and the baby are healthy?" he asked.

"I know," she said, kissing him again, laying her head back down as she felt herself begin drift at the sound of the steady drum of his heartbeat; one hand running his fingers through her hair, the other rubbing her stomach, "I love you, Dodger."

"I love you, too, Book Tease," he said, kissing the top of her head before falling asleep himself.

* * *

 **AN:** Yay! Baby Mariano is on the way! Reviews!?


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: "Well, as far as I know I am completely sane,"

* * *

"Are you sure you can keep this from Lorelai?" Jess asked Rory, the afternoon after Dr. Sanders confirmed that Baby Mariano was indeed on the way. They weren't able to get an appointment until the Monday morning after Rory took the home tests, but when Dr. Sanders ran a test of her own, she confirmed that Rory was six weeks pregnant. They had conceived Baby Mariano on her birthday and was due in July.

"I'm only six weeks Jess. Most people don't tell anyone until they are at least twelve weeks," she told him.

"But you and Lorelai are not normal and twelve weeks isn't until New Year's Eve," he said, "Can you really keep this from your mother through two holiday's?"

"Probably not. Okay, maybe we just tell Mom and Luke that way Mom won't question it when I abstain from drinking while they are here," Rory said.

"Good plan," Jess said while they worked together to make up the bed in the downstairs guest room. Luke, Lorelai, and Hunter were coming Wednesday evening to spend Thanksgiving with them and were going to stay through the weekend.

"It's going to be nice just having them here this weekend," Rory said, "Except for Hunter, it will be like high school."

"And this little one here," Jess said, laying a hand on her stomach, "And the fact that we're all married now."

"That, too, but otherwise it will be just like that Thanksgiving the four of us had sitting together at the diner just after we started dating," Rory said.

"Very true. It's a shame that April couldn't join us," Jess said.

"Yeah, but it's her first major break from school this year and she misses her mom," Rory said, "And besides, she spent last Thanksgiving with us."

"I know. I guess I just miss her. It's been awhile since we've really spent any time with her," Jess said.

"Well, we're spending New Year's Eve in New York and she was planning on staying through break to work on a project so we'll see her then," Rory said.

* * *

Wednesday evening when the little Danes family arrived, while Hunter ran off to find Jess and Luke took their bags into the guest room, Lorelai stood frozen in the kitchen as she watched her daughter eat what had become Rory's favorite snack.

"Rory, sweetie, I know we've eaten a lot of gross things over the years, but I think this one tops them all," Lorelai said, taking a seat next to her as Rory dipped another carrot stick into her tub of chocolate ice cream.

"It's delicious. Do you want to try some?" Rory asked her with a smile, offering her a slice of bell pepper coated in the chocolate ice cream.

"Um, no thanks," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrow as she watched Rory pick up another vegetable off her plate and dipped it into the ice cream, "Either you've seriously lost your mind or you're pregnant."

"Well, as far as I know I am completely sane," Rory said.

"You're pregnant?" Lorelai asked.

"She's pregnant," Jess said, coming into the kitchen with Hunter quick behind him as Jess got him a juice box out of the fridge.

"Oh my God, you're pregnant!" Lorelai exclaimed, jumping off her stool to give Rory a hug, "I'm going to be a grandma!"

"You're what?" Luke asked, coming out of the bedroom after hearing the shrieks of excitement from his wife and stepdaughter.

"I'm pregnant, Luke. I'm having a baby," Rory told him.

"Congratulations, this is great. Yay," Luke said, earning a laugh from everyone.

"Thanks Uncle Luke," Jess said, hugging his uncle and then his mother-in-law.

"You hear that Baby Brother. Jess and I are having baby, so you get to be an uncle," Rory told him.

"What's that?" Hunter asked.

"Well, it's someone who loves the baby and is always there to help and believe in him, no matter what," Jess told him as he looked at Luke.

"Like Daddy is your uncle?" Hunter asked.

"Exactly like that, buddy," Jess said.

"Cool, I gonna be the bestest uncle," Hunter said, "When does the baby get here?" "

"Not for a while. The baby needs to grow first. It's still in Rory's tummy right now, Lorelai told him.

"Oh, okay," he said getting up from his seat at the dining room table where Jess sat him to drink his juice box and going over to Rory. He placed a hand on her stomach before giving it a brief kiss, "Love you baby."

"Aww. That's so cute," Lorelai said as Hunter ran off to the guest room to play, "He may not understand what it means, but that little boy is going to love his niece or nephew."

"Absolutely. Damn hormones," Rory said as she wiped away the tears that started to fall when Hunter was talking to her stomach.

* * *

"So how far along are you? Who else knows?" Lorelai asked as the four of them moved to sit in the living room that night after they put Hunter to bed.

"Six weeks as of Monday and other than my doctor, just you guys," Rory told her.

"You haven't told any of your friends yet?" Lorelai asked.

"No and until the other day, we weren't sure if we were even going to tell you guys," Rory said.

"Why not?" Lorelai asked.

"Because it's still early and I didn't want to burden you with the knowledge if something went wrong," Rory said.

"Oh, hon, you can always tell me anything, you know that," Lorelai told her.

"I know, but we just found out last week and we're still getting used to the idea so I kind of liked it just being us who knew, you know," Rory said.

"Yeah, I can respect that," Lorelai said, "So when you are telling your Dad and the Grandparents?"

"I'm thinking Christmas. Everyone will be there. Grandma and Grandpa will be back from their trip and Dad will be back from France," Rory said, "I'll be eleven weeks by then and I can make an appointment to get an ultrasound before we come up so we can have the most recent picture to show everyone."

"I like that idea," Jess said, taking her hand in his when she laid her head on his shoulder, "Are you getting tired?"

"Yeah. It's been a long day," she said.

"Then let's get you to bed," he said, keeping his arm around her as they stood up together, "I'll be back down in a minute."

"Oh, there's no need for that. I think it's time we turn in, too," Lorelai said, "Goodnight, Hun."

"Night, Mom. Night, Luke," Rory mumbled as Jess led her to the stairs.

"Goodnight Rory," Luke said, getting up himself, clearing their mugs from the coffee and hot chocolate they had.

* * *

Thursday morning, Luke and Jess both woke up early to start preparing their Thanksgiving meal.

"So how do you feel about being a Dad?" Luke asked his nephew as the two worked together to peel potatoes when Luke came back in from taking Paul Anka out for a quick walk.

"I'm excited. I never saw myself as a father or even wanting to be one, but I don't know, from the first time I held Doula when she was a baby and then Hunter in the hospital, I just knew," Jess said, "I knew I wanted that someday and I wanted it with Rory."

"I'm very happy for you, Nephew," Luke said, "And you can come to me anytime, you know that right? For anything."

"I know. Thanks Luke," Jess said, "We'll probably take you up on that in a few months when we start getting things for the baby."

"Yeah, you'll need to turn that study of yours into the baby's room," Luke said.

"Exactly, we'll probably move the futon out of the den and put our desks in there, maybe move a few bookshelves around," Jess said.

"Are you planning on buying a crib or…" Luke asked.

"I was thinking it would be nice if you made one like you did with Hunter," Jess said, "If you don't mind that is."

"I'd be happy to Jess," Luke said.

* * *

"Mmm, smells good in here," Lorelai said, coming out of the guestroom with Hunter behind her.

"What's for breakfast, Daddy?" Hunter asked.

"We have scrambled eggs, bacon, toast," Luke told him.

"My juice?" Hunter asked, taking a seat at the dining room table.

"Yes, I have your apple juice and your swirly straw," Luke said, following Hunter to the table as he placed a plate of food and his cup of juice in front of him.

"Thank you, Daddy," Hunter said, picking up his cup to take a drink of his juice.

"You're welcome, son," Luke said, kissing the top of his head before going back to the kitchen to get Lorelai a cup of coffee, "The turkey is in the oven and we have everything else prepped and ready to go."

"You're such a good provider. Happy Thanksgiving," Lorelai said, kissing him, "Where's Jess?"

"He went up to check on Rory," he said.

"Is she okay?" Lorelai asked.

"She's fine, just a little minor clothing issue," Jess said, coming down the stairs.

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"The jean's she wanted to wear wouldn't zip," Jess said, "It took some digging, but we finally found an old pair in the closet that fit."

"Hey, Mom are you up for some shopping tomorr…" Rory began, coming downstairs, "Oh no."

"Rory?" Jess called as she ran into the bathroom next to the stairs, following her in and holding her back behind her head, rubbing her back, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," she said, rinsing her mouth out when she was done, letting out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Jess asked.

"Mom's not going to like it when you tell her you have to get rid of the bacon," she told him.

"Ah, so that's what did it," he said, "No problem. Why don't you run back upstairs and I'll have the place bacon free in just a few minutes."

"Thank you," she said.

"Anytime," he said, kissing her cheek before opening the door for her so she could quickly run upstairs before she smelled the bacon again.

"Please don't tell me we have to get rid of the coffee?" Lorelai asked.

"No, you're coffee is safe Lorelai," Jess told her, "The bacon, however, not so much."

"I'll take care of it," Luke said, grabbing the pan he cooked the bacon in to get it cleaned while Jess opened the window near the kitchen to help get the smell out.

"And I'll take care of the evidence," Lorelai said, grabbing the plate of bacon and beginning to eat the pieces.

"You can't finish all of that before Rory comes down, Lorelai," Luke said.

"I can try," she said.

"Okay, you shouldn't eat all of that bacon, then," he told her.

"I don't want to just throw it away," she said.

"Give it to me," Luke said, taking the plate from her, putting the remaining slices in a freezer bag and putting it in the freezer, "There, you can save them for when Rory's not around or we can take them home."

"Perfect," Lorelai said as Rory came back downstairs, "Feeling better, Sweets?"

"Much. Bacon's gone?" Rory asked, taking a seat at the table.

"Yes, the bacon is gone," Lorelai said, bringing her a cup of coffee and a plate of eggs and toast.

"Thanks. I'm really glad it wasn't the coffee that bothered me," Rory said, taking a sip, "Hey this is decaf!"

"Sorry, kid, you may be able to talk Jess into the real stuff, but as long as Luke is here, that's all you're getting," Lorelai said.

"I guess it's better than nothing," Rory said, making a face as she took another sip, "Decaf, ugh."

* * *

The remainder of the morning after they finished breakfast, Lorelai and Rory took Hunter and Paul Anka to the park down the street so they could run and play while Luke and Jess continued to prepare the Thanksgiving meal that would be ready when they got back.

"Hunter, sweetie, let's get you cleaned up and changed so we can eat," Lorelai said when they walked back into the apartment.

"Turkey! Yum!" Hunter yelled following Lorelai into the guestroom.

"Hey! Everything looks amazing," Rory said, coming up to Jess, greeting him with a kiss when they walked in.

"Thank you," he said, returning her kiss, "Why don't you take a seat while Luke and finish setting everything up?"

"I can help you know," she told him.

"I know. Just humor me, huh," he said.

"Fine," she said, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge before going to sit on the couch, "Happy, I'm sitting down."

"Ecstatic," he said.

"Don't fight it Rory," Lorelai said, coming out of the guestroom with Hunter, "If Jess is anything like Luke, you'll be lucky if he lets you lift a finger for the next seven months. I say milk it."

"Maybe I will," Rory said, throwing a smirk towards Jess.

"Okay, everything is all set," Luke said a few minutes later.

"Great, I'm starved," Rory said, jumping up from her seat to get to the counter where all the food was laid out, "What's that?"

"Mashed sweet potatoes," Jess told her, "I know you like the fries, but this is better for you and you may actually like it now."

"Smells good," Rory said, taking a huge spoonful as well as a big pile of the roasted carrots and parsnips Luke made before getting herself some turkey and stuffing.

"Don't forget the rolls," Lorelai told her with a smile.

"Right, can't forget the rolls," Rory said, grabbing three and taking her seat at the table.

* * *

After they finished their Thanksgiving meal, Lorelai put Hunter down for a nap and joined Rory when she went upstairs to take one while Luke and Jess put the leftovers away and cleaned up the kitchen.

Friday morning, Rory and Lorelai woke up early to head out for their shopping trip. Their original plan was just to look around and find things they like for people for Christmas, but with Rory starting to have trouble with some of her pants fitting, they decided to do a little maternity clothes shopping.

"I don't think you should get too many new things straight away," Lorelai told her, "The only thing not fitting right now are your pants, right?"

"Right, so what do you suggest?" Rory asked.

"I say we start with a few maternity bands. They stretch to fit around your belly as it expands, but you can wear it with your normal pants," Lorelai said, "And then maybe get a pair or two of maternity jeans and dressier pants and things for work."

"Sounds good," Rory said.

"Plus, I kept all of my maternity things from when I was pregnant with Hunter and I'm going to send them to you as soon as I get back to Stars Hollow," Lorelai said.

"Aww, thanks Mom," Rory said, hugging her and giving her a kiss, "I want to get a nice new dress though. Maybe not this trip, but maybe when we come for Christmas you and I can go out again."

"A new dress for what?" Lorelai asked.

"For when Jess and I are in New York for New Year's Eve," Rory told her, "I'd like a nice new dress for whatever he decides to surprise me with when we're there."

"You don't know where you're going when you're there?" Lorelai asked.

"Other than staying at The Plaza again, no," Rory said as they entered the mall and began their search through all the Black Friday deals.

* * *

 **AN:** Just an FYI, I am single and childless and haven't spent too much time around pregnant women and as my mother was pregnant with my brother when I was seven, I don't remember much. I'm basing all of my writing of Rory's pregnancy on things I come across on the Internet and things I've read or seen in movies or TV so I hope I'm portraying it well. And for anyone who has kids, I welcome any insight you may have. Thanks! Reviews are a wonderful thing!


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** Thank you all for the lovely reviews and words of advice and I dive into the unfamiliar territory of writing Rory's pregnancy Now to let a few more people in on their exciting news. Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 7: "He's her own personal alarm clock,"

* * *

The Danes family stayed in Philadelphia through the weekend, leaving Sunday afternoon to go back to Stars Hollow. A few weeks after Thanksgiving weekend, Rory was ten weeks pregnant. Her always flat stomach now had a slight roundness to it that Jess loved, he couldn't stop touching and kissing her swollen stomach the first morning he noticed the change.

"Jess, come on, we don't want to be late," Rory called from downstairs as Jess was still in their office on his computer typing away on his latest story idea.

"I'm coming. I just had to finish the paragraph I was on and save it," Jess said, coming down the stairs and grabbing his coat from Rory's hand, kissing her cheek, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, now let's go," Rory said, tossing him the keys and taking his hand as they walked out of the apartment.

"Huh, you'd think you were excited or something," Jess said.

"We get to see our baby today and hear his or her heartbeat," Rory said, "Of course I'm excited, aren't you?"

"Over the moon, excited," Jess told her, kissing the back of the hand he held as they drove to her doctor's office.

* * *

"Rory, Jess, good to see you again," Dr. Sanders said when she entered the exam room Rory and Jess were in, "How are you feeling today, Rory?"

"Good, really good. I've been staying hydrated, drinking lots of water," Rory said, "I did have a moment at work last week where I felt really tired and dizzy, but felt better once I ate something. Now I have a little mini-fridge and a drawer of snacks by my desk in case I need something."

"That's a good idea, just be sure not to eat too much. It's okay to gain weight during pregnancy, it's expected, but don't over do it," Dr. Sanders said.

"I won't and it's all healthy stuff," Rory told her.

"Good, good, okay so how about your morning sickness?" Dr. Sanders asked, "How has that been? Any improvement?"

"Some, I still get up at six every morning to throw up. No matter what I ate the night before or what time I fell asleep," Rory said, running her hand along her stomach, "This one gets me up at six everyday."

"He's her own personal alarm clock," Jess said, placing his hand over Rory's.

"You know this kid is going to get a complex if it turns out to be a girl," Rory said.

"Well, that's not going to happen because it's a boy, I know it," Jess said.

"Whatever. So are we done with the questions so we can see our baby?" Rory asked.

"Of course," Dr. Sanders said, smiling at Rory's excitement, "Lay down and lift your shirt up a bit."

Doing as she was told, Rory took Jess' hand as she watched the doctor prepare the machine, bracing herself for the coldness she would feel as soon as the wand from the ultrasound machine was on her stomach.

"Okay, there we go," Dr. Sanders said, moving it around a bit, "Your baby is starting to look like a baby now. There's the head and the feet."

"Wow, that's so cool," Jess said, kissing Rory's hand that he still held as he watched their baby on the screen.

"Can we hear the heartbeat?" Rory asked.

"You can hear it and see it," Dr. Sanders said, moving the wand around a bit, pushing a button on the machine, "There."

"Oh my!" Rory said, not bothering to hold back her tears as she heard the steady, thump and saw the movement of their baby's beating heart on the screen, "That's our baby, Jess."

"It's perfect, just like you," he said, kissing the side of her head as they sat together watching their baby on the screen.

"Would you like me to print out some pictures for you?" Dr. Sanders asked, "We can even record a video of the heartbeat if you'd like."

"Please, that would be great," Rory said, "A video would be perfect to announce it to everyone and then we could give them the pictures to keep."

"Great, let me just, get a recording of this," Dr. Sanders said, pushing another button while she moved the wand around a bit more, "There and I'll go get those pictures for you while you clean up."

"Thanks, Dr. Sanders," Rory said.

* * *

A few minutes later, Rory was now sitting in the seat next to Jess as Dr. Sanders arrived with an envelope containing the copies of her ultrasound along with the DVD.

"Okay, unless you have any questions, you two are free to go," Dr. Sanders said.

"No questions, I think we're good," Rory said.

"Great, then I'll see you in a few weeks," Dr. Sanders said.

"Thank you," Jess said, shaking the doctor's hand before they left.

"I can't get over how amazing this is, Jess," Rory said, taking one of the pictures out of the envelope, "This is our baby. He or she is growing inside me right now."

"I know. It's incredible," he said, stopping to kiss her before he opened her door, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Rory said.

Ten minutes later they arrived at _The Inquirer._ They had both taken the morning off for Rory's appointment. Rory had let her editor in on the news of their little bundle of joy so he would know why she needed certain days off and why she kept snacks at her desk, while Jess just told Matt and Chris he was going to spend the morning writing.

"I'll see you later," Jess said, kissing her before she got out of the car, "Call me if you need to go home any earlier."

"I will. See you later, Jess," Rory said, kissing him again for exiting the car to go into work.

* * *

That Friday, both Rory and Jess left work early so they could make it to Hartford in time for Friday Night Dinner. Even though they would all be getting together Saturday night for Richard and Emily's Christmas party, Emily insisted on Friday Night Dinner.

"Rory, Jess! It's so good to see you," Emily greeted them when the maid led them into the living room, "What's that you have with you?"

"Oh, my laptop, Grandma," Rory said when Emily noticed the bag she was carrying, "I have something I wanted to show you and Grandpa and everyone, but I want to wait for Dad, he's coming right?"

"Of course and I bet that's him, now," Emily said, hearing the doorbell.

"Great, I'll just get this set up then," Rory said, taking her laptop out of her bag.

"Hey, kiddo, Merry Christmas," Christopher said, greeting his daughter with a hug and his son-in-law with a handshake, "What's with the laptop?"

"Rory has something she wants to show us," Richard said.

"Okay, so it's just a short little video so if everyone will just sort of gather near the couch so you can see," Rory said, hitting play on her laptop when they all moved so they could see the screen.

"Is that? Are you?" Christopher asked, watching the movement on the screen as they all looked on in awe at the sound of the little thumping heart.

"You're pregnant!" Emily exclaimed.

"Yes," Rory said, taking Jess' hand in hers, "We're having a baby."

"Oh this is just wonderful," Emily said, "We're going to have a great-grandchild, Richard."

"I say this calls for a toast," Richard said after giving Rory a hug and shaking Jess' hand, "I'll be back the champagne and some sparkling cider."

"Thanks, Grandpa," Rory said, "Dad?"

"I just can't believe it," he said, a few tears falling from his eyes, "I'm going to be a grandpa."

"Pretty cool, isn't it," Lorelai said, placing and a hand on his shoulder.

"Very cool," he said before hugging and congratulating his daughter.

"Oh, I have pictures for everyone, too," Rory said.

"Here you go," Jess said, handing each of them a copy of the ultrasound from Monday after taking the envelope out of Rory's bag.

"How long ago was this taken?" Emily asked.

"Monday," Rory said, "I'm just shy of eleven weeks."

"Eleven weeks?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, we did tell Mom and Luke when they came down for Thanksgiving, but we wanted to be able to tell you in person rather than on the phone so we decided to wait until we came for Christmas," Rory said, "I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner."

"Oh, I'm not mad, just surprised. I know a lot of people wait until they are a little further along and you're not even out of your first trimester yet," Emily said.

"No, but everything's looking good and I'll officially be in my second trimester when we're in New York for New Year's and I wanted to tell you before then," Rory said.

"Okay, everyone we have champagne and sparkling cider so please, take a glass," Richard said when he and the maid came in with trays of glasses for everyone, "Rory this one is yours."

"Thank you," Rory said, accepting the glass.

"To Rory and Jess," Richard said, raising his glass as everyone followed suit, "May your child be happy, healthy, and as smart and well-read as the two of your."

"To Rory and Jess!"

* * *

The next evening while at the Gilmore Christmas party, Rory informed her other Grandmother, Francine Hayden about their baby. She too was excited at the idea of another grand-baby to love and spoil. Rory also grabbed Paris and Doyle and gave them the news. Now the only people left to tell were the people in Stars Hollow and their friends from Philly.

Sunday morning, Rory went over to Lane's house to visit her and the boys and also to tell her about the baby.

"Oh my God, you're pregnant," Lane said when she opened the door to welcome Rory in.

"How could you possible know that?" Rory asked.

"Uh, I've been pregnant, I know that look. Granted it took me awhile to get to it as I wasn't planning for the boys, but eventually I got that look," Lane said.

"What look?" Rory asked.

"That sappy, happy, I can't believe this, this is the happiest I've ever been in my life glow," Lane said, before giving Rory a hug, "Congratulations."

"Thanks, Lane. And you're right, I'm so happy, we both are," Rory told her.

"That's great so tell me, when are you due, who else knows?" Lane asked.

"Well, I'm eleven weeks. Due in July and so far just family, my boss, you, Paris and Doyle," Rory said, "We're telling the town today."

"Really? How are you planning to do that?" Lane asked.

"We had my doctor do a recording of the heartbeat so we'll play that at the town meeting tonight," Rory said, "That's what I did for my Dad and Grandparents. Jess is over at his mom's playing it for her, now and he sent his Dad a copy for Christmas."

"That's so adorable," Lane said.

"Then next week when we're in New York we'll tell April and our friends from Philly. I don't how we've managed to keep it from them, but so far we have. We're all celebrating New Year's in the city so we'll tell them then at some point," Rory told her.

"And Jess is happy about this?" Lane asked, "He's happy about being a Dad?"

"Oh, he's thrilled," Rory said, "He's been talking to and touching my stomach every morning and every night since we found out."

"That's so cute," Lane said.

"I know. I love it," Rory said, running her hand over her stomach that was slightly larger than the week before at their appointment, "Oh and I have copy of the ultrasound for you."

"Thanks, it's so cool. In seven months there will be a mini you and Jess. I can't believe it," Lane said.

"Me either. Sometimes it doesn't seem real," Rory said, "But, I'm so happy and so excited. I can't wait to meet my little mini hoodlum."

"Mini hoodlum?" Lane asked.

"Jess insists it's a boy," Rory told her, "I haven't told him yet, but I think he's right. I just have this feeling. This little one inside me is a bouncing baby boy."

* * *

Sunday afternoon while everyone was at Miss Patty's for Taylor's last minute meeting about the Stars Hollow Christmas Eve pageant the following evening, Rory and Jess stood up, announcing to the town they had something to share. Everyone was excited when they saw the tiny baby and heard the heartbeat when they projected it onto the screen behind the podium.

Christmas morning, Rory was woken up by a different little alarm clock as her two-year-old brother climbed onto the fold out couch with her and Jess at five AM to wake them up because he wanted to open presents.

"Hunter it's too early," Rory said, "Mommy and Daddy aren't even up yet."

"Yeah, buddy. Why don't you lay here with me and Rory and try to get back to sleep for a while longer," Jess suggested.

"Okay," Hunter said, climbing in between Rory and Jess, laying his head on Jess' chest, while Jess through an arm over him to take Rory's hand in his.

"Sleep tight, Baby Brother," Rory said, kissing his forehead before laying her head back down as she felt Jess move their joined hands to her belly.

An hour later though, Rory was up again and running to the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach.

"So this is an everyday thing, huh?" Lorelai asked, when Rory came into the kitchen to get a glass of water.

"Yep, so far," Rory said, sadly eyeing Lorelai's coffee. She hadn't had a drop in two weeks. Her doctor said she was fine to drink it in small amounts, but two weeks ago Rory found that neither regular or decaf agreed with her body and the baby. One small sip would give both her and the baby hiccups, painful ones, so she gave it up.

"How about I get you some hot chocolate?" Lorelai asked.

"Thanks, Mom," Rory said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Anytime, hon," Lorelai told her.

* * *

Once everyone was up and had some coffee or hot chocolate in them, Hunter pulled everyone into the living room so they could finally open their presents. Quickly tearing through all of his and setting aside everything that wasn't a toy, Hunter ran off to his room to play with the newest additions to his own mini toy store while the adults took their time opening their gifts.

"This is great, Mom," Rory said, taking a brand new dress out of the box she just unwrapped, "Did you make this?"

"Yeah, I thought maybe you'd like to where it New Year's Eve," Lorelai said.

"Thanks Mom, I love it," Rory said, getting up to give her a hug, "It's perfect."

As they continued to open gifts, Luke found a couple new flannel shirts and some new fishing and camping gear; Lorelai got a few new tops and a pair of earrings; Rory and Jess both got a few new books and CDs.

"I've got one more for you," Jess told Rory, handing her a small box.

"Oh, Jess it's beautiful," Rory said, placing the ring on her right finger. It was white gold with an emerald in the middle and rows of opals and rubies intermingled along the sides; plus their nicknames for each other, "Dodger," and "Book Tease," engraved next to the rows of stones, "I love it. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Jess told her, leaning towards her to give her a kiss, "Merry Christmas, Book Tease."

"Merry Christmas, Dodger," Rory said.

"I have something out in the garage for the two of you," Luke said.

"The garage?" Rory asked.

"Yes and I know you won't need it for awhile, but I don't know, I guess I got inspired and I had the time so, it's here and ready when you want to take it home," Luke said as they put on their coats to go out to the garage.

"Oh, Luke," Rory said, when he opened the door, "I, I can't...stupid hormones."

"This is amazing, Luke," Jess said, taking Rory into his arms, wiping away the tears that fell when she saw the beautiful handmade crib and rocking chair Luke had made for them, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Just let me know when you're ready for them and I'll bring them down and we can get everything moved around how you want it," Luke said.

"Thanks, Luke. I love it. It's perfect," Rory told him, letting go of Jess to hug her step-father, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Rory," he said, smiling as he held her in his arms.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: "So this is the famous Washington Square Park,"

* * *

After they finished opening their gifts Christmas morning, Luke made everyone breakfast before they got ready to go to Hartford for the day. Francine Hayden had invited everyone to her house to spend the holiday together, then at the end of the week, Rory and Jess left for New York to spend the weekend and New Year's Eve in the city with their friends.

"What time are they getting in today?" Rory asked Jess as they sat together on the round bed in their room of the three bedroom suite they got at The Plaza to share with their friends. The two of them checked in Friday night and got everyone's key's while Matt and Chris would be coming up with Kara and Lacey later Saturday morning.

"Probably not until later this morning or early afternoon," Jess said, taking a bite of his omelette. They decided not to go out and had breakfast delivered to their room, "You know the guys. They're not exactly morning people."

"True. Kara and Lacey aren't either," Rory said, taking a bite of her oatmeal that she had asked to have mixed with mashed carrots.

"How can you eat that?" Jess asked.

"Easy. It's delicious," she said.

"But it's oatmeal and carrots," he said.

"Yes and with the cinnamon and brown sugar that's in the oatmeal, it tastes like carrot cake," she told him.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"Serious, here try a bite," she said, holding a spoonful out for him to try.

"Wow, you're right, it does," he said.

"Told you it was good," she said.

"I never said it was good. I just said you were right. It tastes like carrot cake, but I don't like carrot cake," he said.

* * *

Just before noon there was a knock on their suite door and as Jess got off the couch in the living room they were laying on while they watched a movie, Rory stopped him.

"Wait," she said.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"They have food. I can smell it and… oh no," Rory said, covering her mouth as she took off to the bathroom while Jess got up to answer the door.

"Get rid of whatever you brought that has bacon on it and come inside," Jess said when he opened the door.

"What? How did you know we had bacon?" Matt asked, holding on to the bag of burgers they stopped to pick up from the diner down the street.

"Seriously, we bring lunch for you and Rory and you want us to dump it?" Chris asked.

"Yes, I'll pay you back and explain why, but first you need to get rid of it," Jess said, letting them inside.

"Fine," Matt said, walking towards the garbage can near the door.

"No, not in here. Take it far, far away," Jess told him.

"You are seriously wacked man, you know that," Matt said, grabbing a key card off the counter, "I'll take it downstairs and when I get back you're telling me what the hell this is all about."

"Thank you," Jess said.

"Hey, where's Rory?" Lacey asked.

"Bathroom," Jess told her, "Make yourselves at home. I'm going to go check on her."

"That was seriously weird," Kara said once Jess left the room.

"Yeah, what was up with that?" Chris asked, taking a seat next to Lacey on the couch, placing an arm around her.

"Hey, guys, welcome to The Plaza," Rory said, walking in to greet them.

"Are you alright, Rory? You look a little pale," Lacey said.

"I'm fine," she said, "I'm sorry to cause so much trouble."

"It's no trouble, babe," Jess said, kissing the side of her head, "They didn't know."

"Didn't know what?" Chris asked.

"That the smell of bacon makes me nauseous," Rory said.

"Since when?" Kara asked.

"Oh about six weeks ago," Rory told them, laying a hand on her stomach.

"You're pregnant?" Lacey asked.

"Yeah, just shy of twelve weeks," Rory said.

"Oh my gosh, this is so awesome," Kara said as she and Lacey both enveloped Rory in a hug.

"So that explains those mornings off you've had," Lacey said.

"Yeah, and that fridge under your desk," Kara said, "You said you were just tired of Daniel trying to swap your junk food for healthy food."

"Nope, I got it to keep juice, ginger ale, snacks, and other stuff close by if I felt nauseous or needed a pick me up to get me through the day," Rory said.

"Congratulations you guys," Chris said, "It's nice to know why we had to get rid of the bacon, but I'm confused as to how you know we had it."

"Heightened sense of smell," Rory told him, taking a seat in Jess' lap when he sat on one of the chairs in the living room, "Where's Matt?"

"Getting rid of the bacon," Jess told her.

"Ah, okay," she said.

"Alright, I'm back. I got rid of the frickin' bacon," Matt said, coming into the room and sitting down next to Kara, "Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?"

"Rory's pregnant," Kara told him.

"What? She is? You are?" Matt asked.

"I am," Rory said, with a smile as Jess placed his hands on her stomach.

"And the smell of the bacon made you nauseous," Matt said.

"Yep," Rory told him, "Sorry you had to get rid of your lunch."

"It was worth it now," Matt said, getting up to give Rory a hug and kiss her cheek, "Congratulations, you guys."

"Thanks, Matt," Jess said, shaking his friend's hand.

* * *

Since they had to get rid of the burgers, Rory and Jess decided to treat their friends to a late lunch of Chinese food. Once they got all their things settled into their rooms, the six of them headed out into the city. They found a restaurant a few blocks away from the hotel called China Grill.

"This is place is perfect," Kara said, as Matt held out her chair for her to sit down.

"Yeah, everything smells amazing," Lacey said, "I can't wait to order."

"Me, either," Rory said, looking over the menu, "Everything sounds so good and what's better, no bacon in Chinese food."

Over the next couple of hours the six of them feasted on dishes of beef, chicken, and dumplings. Rory took a liking to one of the fried rice dishes they ordered that contained avocado. After lunch the girls insisted on going to Serendipity 3 so they could get frozen hot chocolate even though it was thirty degrees out. The rest of the evening was spent watching movies and snacking on room service in the hotel before everyone headed to bed early.

Sunday morning after having breakfast in the hotel's restaurant, the group parted ways. The girls decided they had to go shopping and cash in on all the end of the year sales the stores were having. Jess took the guys to Washington Square Park to discuss an idea he had with them.

"So this is the famous Washington Square Park," Chris said as they walked through the park and Jess stopped at his and Rory's bench.

"And this must be the bench," Matt said, taking a seat next to Jess.

"This is where it all started, huh," Chris said, "You and Rory."

"Well, technically, it started in Stars Hollow," Jess told him, "When we first met, but yes, this is the bench. I was sitting here the day she decided to skip school and come see me, all because I didn't say goodbye."

"And now she's stuck with you," Matt said with a laugh.

After sitting in the park for a few minutes, Jess led the guys to a building a few blocks away with for sale sign in the window of an old bookstore. He loved Philly. That city had been a great home to him and he was happy there, but he would always love New York.

"So, I've been thinking," Jess told them.

"About buying this place?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, it's a great location and it couldn't hurt to have a second bookstore," Jess said, "You could still do all the publishing in Philly, but this could be a second hand bookstore that also sold all of our books we publish."

"You want to move back to New York?" Matt asked.

"I'm thinking about it," he told them.

"Does Rory know?" Chris asked.

"Not yet. I'm going to show it to her this afternoon," Jess said.

"You think she'd be up for moving?" Matt asked.

"She loves her job at _The Inquirer_ , but her dream is _The New York Times_ ," Jess said, "She told me once when we were here a few years and we walked by the _Times_ building. She said it would take awhile, but she wanted it, she wants to work there."

"So, you want to do this," Chris said.

"Yeah, the building needs some work so it will be awhile before it's ready to open and I'll need to hire a few people to help out and find us a place to live after I talk to Rory about it," Jess said, "But yeah, I want to do this."

"Okay, then we'll help however we can," Matt said, "We'll miss having you around, but if this is what you both want, then we support you."

"Yeah, you have our full support, whatever you need," Chris said.

"Thanks, guys," Jess said.

* * *

"We should go to a spa," Kara said as they walked out of their third store, "Or somewhere to get manicures or something."

"Yeah, a mani-pedi would be amazing," Lacey said, "What do you think, Rory?"

"I'm could go for some pampering," Rory said.

"Any idea where we should go?" Kara asked.

"Yeah it's Sunday and the day before New Year's Eve. Most places are closed and if they're open, I'm sure they are busy," Lacey said.

"I know a place," Rory said, taking her phone out of her pocket, "Let me just make a call."

Thirty minutes later the three of them were walking into Grant and Lynn. Six months after Rory and Jess' wedding Louise found a storefront to sell her clothes. The building she found was big and had previously been a hair salon so she asked Madeline to join her and the two of them opened Grant and Lynn, a combination beauty salon and boutique.

"Thanks so much for opening up for us, you guys," Rory told Madeline and Louise as Madeline got to work on her nails.

"Of course, Rory, we're happy to," Louise said, offering her glass, "Champagne?"

"Oh, um, do you have any club soda or sparkling cider?" Rory asked, smiling as she placed a hand on her stomach.

"No! Seriously! That's so great, Rory," Louise said, giving her a hug.

"What?" Madeline asked.

"Rory's pregnant," Louise told her.

"Congratulations," Madeline said.

"Thanks," Rory said.

"So, how far along are you?" Louise asked.

"Twelve weeks," Rory said, accepting the glass of club soda Louise offered her, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Louise told her, "So how long are you in the city for?"

"We go back to Philly on Wednesday," Rory said, "I have to be back at the paper on Thursday and get my article turned in for my column on Friday."

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Madeline asked.

"I'm not sure," Rory said, "The guys were doing all the planning, why?"

"Well, we're having a party at our place if you're interested," Louise told her.

"Yeah, you should totally come and you'll finally get to meet our boyfriends," Madeline said.

"I'll talk to Jess about it, but yeah, I'd like that," Rory said as Madeline finished up her nails, "This color is fantastic, thank you."

"Louise, your designs are amazing," Kara said as she and Lacey looked through the racks of clothes.

"Thanks, I keep a few pieces readily available to sell for anyone who walks in, but I mostly do special orders," Louise told her.

"I don't know what yet, but I am definitely going to have you make me something," Lacey said.

"Anytime, just let me know," Louise said.

* * *

Sunday afternoon after everyone met back at the hotel, Jess took Rory to show her the building he was looking into buying.

"You brought me to an empty bookstore. How depressing," Rory said as they stopped in front of the empty storefront.

"Well, it's empty right now," he told her, "But it could be full of books again, Truncheon Books to be exact."

"The guys want to open a store here?" Rory asked.

"Sort of. They support the idea, but it was mine, actually," Jess said.

"You want to buy this building?" Rory asked

"Yeah, it's a great location and it's a really great price," he said, "What do you think?"

"Who would run it?" she asked.

"I would with help from whoever I find to hire," he told her.

"You want to move back to New York?"

"If you want to."

"Well, I don't really have a choice if you're already making plans to open a bookstore here. When were you planning on telling me? After you've already picked out an apartment and signed the lease?"

"No, of course not. I only just discovered this place a few weeks ago and figured I would show you this weekend when we were here."

"But you've been thinking about it longer though, haven't you?"

"Since you told me you were going to work for _The New York Times_ someday."

"That was three years ago. You've been thinking about this that long?"

"Yeah. I can write anywhere, Rory, but having a store would give me something to do on a daily basis so when we found out you were pregnant I started looking for places to open a store," he told her, "So what do you think? Do you like it?"

"If we lived in New York it would be a lot closer to Mom and Luke," Rory said.

"True," he said.

"Which would make it easier if we needed help when the baby gets here or just to visit," she said, "It would be nice to have a job at _The Times_ already, but it's not necessary."

"No, it's not. You could always look for a job at another paper in the city if you wanted," he said.

"Or I could take a break for awhile," she said, "I mean, I'm going to be taking maternity leave anyway and it's not like we need the money."

"No, we don't," he said, "So?"

"So, I say we start looking for places to live," she said.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, "Let's move to New York."


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** I'm so glad you're all happy they are moving to New York. It was always a plan to eventually move them there. It won't happen right away though. A few things have to line up first to make the move happen, but it will happen. In a few chapters or so the Mariano's will be in New York.

* * *

Chapter 9: "Can I let you in on a little secret, Grandpa?"

* * *

Arriving back in Philadelphia a few days after New Year's, Jess and the guys got to work planning what they needed to get done to be able to open Truncheon II. Jess spoke with the realtor before leaving New York, but with the holiday, no one was able to show him the space until the middle of January. This gave the guys time to meet with their lawyers and advisors from the bank about financing for the space. Between the three of them they had more than enough for a sizable down payment, but needed to work it out with their bank in Philadelphia and arrange with a branch in New York to set up a mortgage for the space.

"You do realize we have more than enough money with my trust funds to buy the place out right?" Rory asked as she and Jess sat on the couch in the living room, her with her head in his lap enjoying the feel of his fingers combing through her hair. They were discussing Jess' trip to New York the next day to meet with a realtor to look at the building.

"I know and I did consider, but even though it is in a joint account and I can see your grandparents approving the idea, it just seems wrong," he told her, "I know I have access to it whenever I want, I just feel wrong spending it on something that I want."

"I get that. It was the same for me whenever Logan would…" Rory began, "never mind, it's not important."

"No, it's fine. I get it. Blondie's rich and liked to show it off," Jess said.

"He was very into grand gestures. Some were sweet, like the coffee cart he hired to follow me around campus when we had broken up at one point," Rory said.

"He hired you a coffee cart? The guy and all?" Jess asked and Rory nodded, "Gotta say the guy isn't entirely as dumb as I thought if he knows the key to a Gilmore's heart is a good cup of coffee."

"Yeah, that one was a good one, but most of the rest were just completely over the top and ridiculous," she said, "I'm not a grand gesture type of girl. I don't need to be showered with money and over expensive gifts."

"I know this. Why do you think we spend most of our nights eating takeout and reading books to each other," Jess said, "Yes, I admit I'm not much of a people person, but if you wanted to go out I would."

"Yeah and if you want to pay for the new bookstore on your own, that's fine. You do what you want to do. Just know the offer is always there," Rory told him.

"Thank you for understanding my reasons," Jess said, kissing her forehead.

"We're still going to use that money to find us an apartment and get all the things we need for the baby though, right?" Rory asked.

"Absolutely. I have no problem using money neither of us earned to spoil you and our little hoodlum," Jess said, running his hand along her stomach before kissing it.

"You know you're going to confuse the baby if it turns out to be a girl,"Rory said.

"It's a boy. I'm sure of it," Jess said.

"Well just a few more weeks until we find out for sure," Rory said.

* * *

While Jess was in New York meeting with the realtor and checking out the space for the bookstore, Rory went to Stars Hollow to spend the day with Lorelai.

"Oh, Lucy, I'm home," Rory said, walking into her childhood home after Jess dropped her off.

"Let me get a look at you. It's been too long since I've see you," Lorelai said, hugging Rory before taking in the sight of Rory's little bump, "15 weeks looks good on you."

"Thanks," Rory said.

"How are you feeling?" Lorelai asked.

"Good. Morning sickness is basically gone. I still can't drink coffee, only now instead of hiccups I get heartburn," Rory told her.

"And bacon?" Lorelai asked.

"The smell doesn't bother me, but I haven't tried eating it out of fear I would throw up," Rory said.

"Any other issues besides the heartburn?" Lorelai asked.

"I've never been more grateful for my crazy note taking antics than I was the other day at work," Rory said.

"Why's that?" Lorelai asked.

"I've got myself a case of pregnancy brain and almost forgot an important meeting," Rory said, "I wrote it down on my calendar at work and home because that's what I do, but I usually just remember these things, you know."

"Right so what happened?"

"I was packing up my things. All set to go home early since I had finished my article for the week and had nothing else to work on when I noticed a sticky note with a date and time on it."

"The date and time was for the meeting, I assume."

"Correct. I didn't write anything else down on it, just the date and time to remind myself that I had something to do. So, when I saw it, I blanked. I knew I had written it down for a reason, but I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was."

"Yep, definitely pregnancy brain. It happens to us all."

"It sucks. I used to remember everything. I'd skim a page in the newspaper and be able to tell you every detail of every article on that page. And now I have to ask my husband to check I've put my clothes on in the morning."

"Seriously?"

"Well, a couple of times I've almost left the house in my slippers or with my pajama bottoms still on. Please tell me it gets better?"

"Sweets, sorry to tell you, but the pregnancy brain thing isn't just going to go away. With the lack of sleep from being uncomfortable later in your pregnancy and being up with the baby after it's born, it can last awhile."

"Oh, joy. So I'm stuck with momnesia forever."

"Not forever. It's different for everyone, but once your hormones settle back down you should be fine," Lorelai told her.

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Really, and if you're worried about it you can always talk to your doctor about it, but until then just continue to write notes for yourself and have Jess be sure you're not leaving the house in your pajamas," Lorelai said.

"Thanks, Mom," Rory said.

"Anytime, kid," Lorelai said, "So are you up for some shopping?"

"Absolutely," Rory said.

* * *

After meeting with the realtor in New York, Jess joined Rory, Lorelai, Luke, and Hunter at the Gilmore's for dinner before they went back to Philly. It had been a month since Rory and Jess had been able to attend a dinner with her grandparents.

"Oh, look at you, Rory, you're gorgeous," Emily said.

"Thanks, Grandma," Rory said, greeting her with a kiss before going to hug her grandfather, "Hey, Grandpa."

"Wonderful to see you," Richard said, "Jess."

"Richard, good to see you," Jess said, shaking his hand before taking his seat next to Rory.

"I just can't get over how beautiful you look. Pregnancy really suits you, Rory. You're positively glowing," Emily said.

"I know, right. I told her the same thing this morning," Lorelai said.

"So is everything going okay with your pregnancy?" Emily asked.

"Perfect. My doctor said everything looks good. I'm on target with my weight gain, though I don't know how since I spend most meals snacking on raw vegetables," Rory said.

"Yuck. Vegetables," Lorelai said.

"Not yuck, you spent your whole pregnancy eating fruit," Rory said.

"Yeah, at least fruit tastes good in addition to that whole good for you thing," Lorelai said.

"Well, it tastes good to me and I can't help it that the baby loves fresh carrots and peppers," Rory said.

"The minute Little Lorelai is old enough for solid foods, she is getting ice cream and French fries," Lorelai said.

"What makes you think we're going to name our daughter Lorelai?" Rory asked.

"Why not? I did," Lorelai said.

"I didn't know you were having a girl, you should have told us Rory," Emily said.

"It's not a girl," Jess told her.

"So, it's a boy then," Richard said.

"No, grandpa. We don't know yet. I have my next ultrasound in a few weeks and we should be able to find out then," Rory said, "Mom just insists that the baby is a girl."

"And she is completely wrong because I know it's a boy," Jess said.

"Yeah, yeah, you'll eat those words Mariano," Lorelai told him, "Mom had a girl, my first child was a girl, you're getting a girl."

"We'll see," Jess said.

"So, is dinner ready. I'm starved," Rory said.

Halfway through dinner, Hunter was getting tired so Luke took him upstairs to Lorelai's old bedroom to lay him down until they left. When he returned Rory and Jess were discussing Jess' trip to New York.

"So, you're really moving to New York?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, we're really doing it," Jess said, "I looked at the space today and it's in pretty good shape. It needs some cleaning and I'd like to get new bookshelves put in and new paint on the walls, but other than that it's good to go."

"And the price is good? The lease?" Richard asked.

"Everything's good. We're actually aiming to buy the building entirely instead of just leasing the space. That way we'll have more freedom to make changes to the store as we see fit," Jess said.

"Not a bad business idea," Richard said, "Have you signed anything yet for this place?"

"No, I just met with the realtor today and gave it a look. I want to have my own inspection done and have all the guys come up and see it before we make a final decision," Jess said, "I'll be running it, but since it will be under the Truncheon name, I feel we should all be in agreement. Plus Rory hasn't seen the inside yet."

"You haven't?" Emily asked, "If you're planning to move to the city, you should be part of this decision to Rory."

"And I will be. I just didn't go today because we didn't know what shape the building was in," Rory told her.

"Yeah, everything I read online and heard from the realtor was great, but just in case there were any health risks we didn't want Rory there," Jess said, "There weren't so we're going to go back up there tomorrow so Rory can have a look at the inside."

"Well, good," Emily said, "Have you two looked at apartments are were you planning to find a house somewhere and commute into the city?"

"I've done some looking online. We've considered buying so we don't have to pay rent every month, but every place I've seen for sale with what we want just isn't going to work for us," Rory said.

"Yeah, we want to have at least four bedrooms. Ours, one for the baby, a guest room, and the last could be a study if there isn't space elsewhere for it or it will also give us a room if we have more kids so we can still keep our guest room," Jess said.

"And everything I've looked at to buy in the city is multiple floors with the bedrooms spread out between floors," Rory said, "And in the case of multiple children that just won't work. We'd like to be on the same floor as our kids."

"That makes sense and if you can get a place now that will work for the future you don't have to worry about moving," Richard said, "Have you considered looking outside the city?"

"Yes, but neither one of us wants to have to deal with the commute," Jess said, "We're trying to find someplace that's close to both the bookstore and any paper Rory would be working at."

"Well, seems like you have things handled pretty well. You know what you're looking for and not looking for," Richard said, "But if you should need any help, please don't hesitate to call."

"We will, Grandpa," Rory said.

After dinner Luke and Lorelai excused themselves to get Hunter back home while Rory and Jess decided to stick around for a bit to spend a little more time with Richard and Emily. After answering all of Emily's questions about the baby, Rory joined Richard and Jess in the study while Emily went to the kitchen to check that all the dishes had been taken care of.

"What are we talking about?" Rory asked, joining Jess on the couch while Richard searched the shelves for a book.

"Oh, I was just telling Jess about an old copy of _Atlas Shrugged_ I came across the other day," Richard said, "He didn't seem to impressed, but I recall you enjoying the works of Ayn Rand."

"Absolutely," Rory said, taking the book from her grandfather after he found it.

"I'm going to go get a glass of water," Jess said, "Do either of you need anything?"

"I'm good," Rory said.

"I'm fine, Jess, thank you," Richard said, taking Jess' place on the couch next to Rory, "You know your grandmother and I are so very proud of you."

"Thanks, Grandpa," she said.

"And getting our first great-grandchild. Why, I don't believe I've seen your grandmother this happy since the first time she held you after you were born," Richard said.

"Really?" Rory asked, wiping away a few tears.

"There's no need to cry, dear," Richard said.

"Hormones," she laughed, "Can't help it."

"Right, of course," Richard said.

"Can I let you in on a little secret, Grandpa?" Rory asked.

"Sure, everything's alright, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes, it's just, I have this feeling that Jess is right about the baby," Rory told him, rubbing her hand along her stomach, "Mom's not going to like it, but I'm sure this little one is a boy."

"A great-grandson," Richard said, "Well, that's wonderful."

"We still won't know for sure until my doctor does the ultrasound, but I don't know, I just have this feeling," Rory said, "Is that crazy?"

"No, I think most mothers feel that way. Back in the day couples had to wait until the baby was born to find out if the baby was a boy or girl, but that didn't stop your grandmother from insisting from day one that she was carrying a girl," Richard said.

"Really, Grandma knew Mom was a girl, right from the beginning," Rory said.

"Yes, from the moment the doctor confirmed her pregnancy she wanted to go out and buy everything pink we could find because she was sure she was carrying a girl," Richard said.

"That's so sweet," Rory told him, "I haven't gone that far yet. We've bought a few things, unisex though in greens and yellows. I'm sure I'm right and Jess seems sure, but I just want to know for absolute sure before I go buying every blue item I can get my hands on."

* * *

The next day Rory and Jess stopped back in New York on there way back to Philadelphia so Rory could see the space that would become Truncheon II. Immediately, she loved it just as much as Jess, loving the old bookstore feel it still had, she was excited to see it filled with all the books Truncheon has to offer and other secondhand books Jess filled it with.

"We should start thinking of names," Rory said as they got closer to Philly.

"For the baby?" Jess asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"Don't you want to wait for the ultrasound so we know what list to choose from?" he asked.

"I thought you were sure it was a boy," Rory said.

"I am, but I thought you'd like to know for absolute sure before settling on a name," Jess said.

"I would if I didn't agree with you," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"I agree with you," she said, "I don't understand it, but I've had this feeling for awhile, and even more recently that we've got a little boy in here."

"You're serious?" Jess asked.

"Serious enough to tell Grandpa I was sure," Rory said.

"Really? Okay, well, do you have any ideas?" he asked.

"We could always call him Dodger," Rory suggested.

"No, but we could call him Jack," Jess said.

"True, that's a thought, but I was actually thinking about naming him after my grandpa," Rory said.

"You want to name him Richard?" Jess asked.

"Maybe. I don't know if I want it for a first name or a middle name, though," Rory said.

"If we use it for a first name, we don't have to call him Richard," Jess said, "We could call him, Rick or Rich or…"

"Richie!" Rory said.

"Richie, I like it," Jess said.

"Richie Mariano. What do you think, little guy?" Rory asked, rubbing her hand on her stomach.

"I don't think he'll answer Rory," Jess said.

"I know. I was just trying it out," she said.

"And?" he asked.

"I like it," she said, "I like it a lot."

"Me too," he said, taking her hand in his, kissing her knuckles before placing their interlocked hands on her stomach, "Now he just needs middle name."

"I'll leave that one to you," Rory said, "I chose the first name so you pick the middle name."

"Okay, I'll think about it," Jess said, "But should we have girl's name just in case?"

"No, we can always go with Lorelai at the last minute if need be," Rory said.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: "It's six in the morning. Anyone who knows us knows we're not up until at least eight."

* * *

A few days after Valentine's Day Rory was nineteen weeks into her pregnancy and excited for her twenty week ultrasound the next week where they would see if her and Jess were right and their little bump was a boy. Even though she was still hoping for a girl, Lorelai had come around to thinking it was a boy after Rory told her about the little surprise she got the morning of Valentine's Day. Instead of being woken up by the feeling of nauseousness she had become used to in the first few months of her pregnancy, Rory was woken up by a few slight kicks from their little one.

"He still kicking?" Jess asked as they laid together on the couch after dinner.

"Yeah, I think he's a fan of spicy food," Rory said.

"What's it feel like?" Jess asked, rubbing his hand on her stomach to see if he felt anything yet.

"It's a fluttering, really," Rory said, "You know that whole butterflies in your stomach feeling, it's kind of like that only there actually is something floating inside."

"I can't believe your Mom has come over to our side," Jess said.

"Well, she said it has to be a boy since I felt him already. She said she didn't feel anything with me until week thirty," Rory said, "And with Hunter she was feeling him by week fifteen."

"But that could be because he was her second pregnancy," Jess said.

"True, but she asked Sookie and Lane about it, too and they both felt their boys moving pretty early, too," Rory told him.

"Well, I'm definitely not going to argue that Lorelai thinks it's a boy because I've been saying it from the beginning," Jess said, "But you have to admit her reasoning is off."

"I know. Just because she felt Hunter so early and Lane and Sookie with their boys, doesn't mean anything for us. Every pregnancy is different," Rory said.

* * *

"Have you heard anything else with the space for the bookstore?" Chris asked Jess while they were doing inventory.

"No, and it really sucks, you know. The space is perfect and it's in a good location," Jess said.

"Yeah, I can't believe someone else put an offer in on it," Matt said.

"I know, that place was practically ours," Chris said.

"Not quite. We never signed anything. No money changed hands. It was fair game," Jess said, "Now we wait to see if they accept the other offer."

"We could always offer more," Matt said.

"We could, but I don't want to. It's a great space, but it's not worth upping the offer," Jess said, "I already have to dig into Rory's trust funds to buy the place even though I didn't want to, but that's the unfortunate side affect of being proactive and putting each other onto our accounts in case of an emergency. The money may not be mine, but since my name is on it I can't get any kind of loan or anything since it looks like I have money."

"Even though the money in Rory's trust funds just sits there?" Chris asked.

"Yep. And it probably wouldn't even matter if my name wasn't on the account since we're married," Jess said.

"Does it really matter if you buy the place with Rory's trust fund money?" Matt asked, "It's not like you're buying it with money she earned from her job at the paper so it shouldn't bruise your ego or anything."

"I know and it wouldn't bruise my ego. I know she taps into that fund to buy all the old albums and first edition Hemingway's she's gotten me," Jess said, "But, I just feel weird spending money that neither of us earned. She got that money purely because of the family she was born into."

"So what?" Matt asked, "She may have gotten the money because of who her family is, but that money didn't just appear overnight. Someone earned that money once upon a time and it just kept getting invested and passed down."

"I never thought of it that way," Jess said, "That makes sense. Rory didn't earn the money she was given and Richard has made quite a bit of money over the years, but nowhere near as much as what Rory was given. The money they put in her trust fund was family money that was invested long term and passed down to Richard from his father."

"See and now it's been passed down to Rory to do with what she wants. She can invest it, spend it, let it sit in the account forever, it's up to her and you," Matt said.

* * *

"Make it stop," Rory groaned, rolling over and covering her head with a pillow to drown out the ringing of Jess' phone, "It's six in the morning. Anyone who knows us knows we're not up until at least eight."

"Probably a wrong number," Jess said, leaning over to grab his phone from the nightstand, pausing when he saw the name flashing on his screen. If Rory was grumpy in the mornings, his mother-in-law was a nightmare, yet it was her name that appeared on his phone, "Hello."

"Jess!" Lorelai said, her voice sounding too soft and husky for it to be just because it was early in the morning. Kissing Rory on the forehead, Jess climbed out of bed to avoid waking Rory back up as he told Lorelai to hold a moment.

"Lorelai, what's wrong?" Jess asked.

"He's gone," she said, her words breaking as she said each one, "He was fine at dinner on Friday. He was happy. He couldn't wait to hold the baby, but this morning…this morning he didn't wake up."

"Who, Lorelai? Who didn't wake up?" Jess asked, though at her mention of dinner, he already knew, but needed her to confirm it before he woke his wife with the worst news he could ever imagine her getting.

"My dad," Lorelai said, breaking down. Jess heard a slight clash before Luke came on the phone.

"Sorry, she dropped the phone," Luke said, "Jess?"

"I'm here. I just can't believe it," Jess said, "He's really gone?"

"Yeah. He went to bed last night and never woke up this morning. It hasn't been confirmed, but we're pretty sure he had another heart attack," Luke said.

"I, wow. We just saw him a few weeks ago. Rory told him she was sure the baby was going to be a boy," Jess said, his own tears beginning to fall, "He was so excited. He couldn't wait to have a great-grandchild. It's just not fair."

"No, you're right it's not," Luke said, "And it's not fair that you have probably the toughest job of any of us right now."

"I have to tell Rory," Jess said, "God, how do I do that? We were supposed to go for her twenty week ultrasound today. How do I tell her that he's gone? How do I tell her that one of the greatest influences on her life, one of her twin pillars is gone?"

"I don't know Jess. I really don't know," Luke said, "All I can say is be there for her. You know Rory, she likes facts. Just be honest and upfront. Let her know it's okay to cry and hold her when she does."

"Yeah. Thanks, Luke. Take care of Lorelai and tell her I'm sorry," Jess said, "I'll call you later once we know when we're heading up."

"I will. Take care, Jess," Luke said.

* * *

"Mmm, something smells good," Rory said when she came downstairs a couple hours later, giving Jess a kiss when she got to the kitchen, "You never came back to bed after the phone rang. Is everything okay?"

"Here, sit. I made you chocolate chip pancakes," Jess said, "And I sliced up some strawberries and bananas to go with them."

"We didn't have any bananas yesterday," Rory said, "You went to the store this morning?"

"Yeah, I needed to get the bananas and since you haven't been drinking it we were out of coffee," Jess said.

"You made me coffee, too. Jess, what's going on?" Rory asked, taking a small sip from the cup he handed her. It had been weeks since she had any do the heartburn she got every time she tried to drink it, but if Jess was offering it, he must feel like she needs it so she'd gladly suffer the heartburn.

"The phone call this morning," Jess began as Rory cut into her stack of pancakes, "It was Lorelai."

"My Mom? It was six o'clock in the morning. Was she drunk?" Rory asked, "She's never up that early."

"No, she wasn't drunk," Jess said.

"Well, is everything okay with Luke and Hunter. Hunter's not sick or anything is he?" Rory asked, "I can't think of any other reason she would be up so early."

"No, Ror. Hunter's fine. So is Luke. Um," Jess said, "It's uh. God this is hard."

"Just tell me what happened, Jess," Rory said, setting her fork down to wipe away the tears that had started to fall as Jess reached across the counter to take her hand in his.

"Your grandpa, Rory," Jess said, giving her hand a squeeze.

"What about him? Is he alright? He didn't have another heart attack or something, did he?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, Ror, he did," Jess said.

"But, he's going to be okay, right? They got him to the hospital and he's going to be okay," Rory said.

"No, he's not," Jess said, "I'm so sorry, Rory."

"No, no…"

"He's…"

"Don't even say it, no. He can't be."

"Rory."

"No! He's fine. He's going to have a great grandson named after him. He's going to love our little Richie as much as we do."

"I know, Ror, I know. He would have been so happy to have our son named after him," Jess said.

"Don't talk about him in the past tense," Rory said, getting up from the kitchen counter, "He's fine. He's had a heart attack before and he was fine."

"Ror," Jess said, taking her hand in his, laying his other hand on her cheek.

"No, just stop," Rory said, turning away from him to go back upstairs, "He's fine!"

* * *

An hour later after cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen Jess heard Rory coming down the stairs. She was dressed and had her purse and shoes in her hand.

"Rory?" he questioned.

"Are you ready? We have to be at the doctor's office in thirty minutes," Rory said.

"You still want to go to your appointment?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I? We've been waiting for this from the beginning," Rory said, "We have to see our baby boy today. Our, Rich...our Richard. Richard Mariano."

"Okay. Let me just grab my jacket and we can go," he said.

"He still needs a middle name," Rory said, her head leaning against the window of the car as they drove to their appointment.

"Holden," Jess said.

"What?" she asked.

"Holden. Richard Holden Mariano," he told her, "We were doing inventory at the store the other day and I came across a few copies of _Catcher in the Rye_.

"Richard Holden Mariano," Rory said, running her hand across her bump as she felt a few small kicks inside, "I love it and I think he does, too."

"He's kicking?" Jess asked.

"Yeah. I wish you could feel it," Rory said.

"I will soon," Jess said, "He is part Gilmore, you know. He's stubborn. He'll kick for me when he's ready."

"I'm not stubborn," Rory said, "Mom, maybe, but not me. I'm an angel."

"Uh, sure. Try not to poke yourself while shining that halo," he said, opening her door for her when they pulled into the parking lot of the doctor's office.

"Are you insinuating that I have devil horns?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm not insinuating anything. I'm outright saying it," he said with a smile, pulling her into his arms for a kiss, "I love you."

"I love you, too," she said, taking his offered hand as they walked into the building.

* * *

"Okay, are you ready?" Doctor Sanders asked after checking Rory over and getting the ultrasound set up.

"Very," Rory said.

"Here we go," she said, placing the wand on Rory's stomach, "Now, I believe you've said from the beginning that you were having a boy, right Jess?"

"Yes and Rory's recently admitted that she agrees with me, as has her mother," Jess told her.

"Well, it seems you were right all along. Take a look," Doctor Sanders said, turning the screen to face them once she had a clear picture of their artichoke sized little boy, "See right there."

"Our little boy," Jess said, taking hold of Rory's hand.

"Our Richie," Rory whispered, her fingers brushing the screen as her tears began to fall, "He'll never know his namesake, Jess."

"I know," Jess said, kissing her forehead and brushing away a few of her tears, "Can we have a minute, Doctor Sanders?"

"Of course. I'll get some pictures printed and be back in a few minutes," she said, saving the image on the screen so Rory could continue to look at it before putting the wand away.

"Thank you," Jess said, wiping Rory's stomach off and pulling her shirt back down before joining her on the chair, pulling her into his arms.

"He'll never know, Jess. Our son will never know the great man he was named for," Rory said, clinging to Jess' shirt as her tears fell and her body shook with sobs.

"We'll tell him all about him, Ror," Jess said, "It's not the same, I know, but Richie will know everything there is to know about his great-grandfather. He'll know how much he loved him and wanted to meet him."

"I miss him already," Rory said, "He's...he was one of my best friends, Jess. He got me. He believed in me."

"I know. Richard was a great man," Jess said.

"And he liked you," Rory said, "I've never seen him get along with a guy I was with as much as you. He didn't even get along with Logan as well as he got along with you. He loved you."

"I don't know about that. I think he just liked having someone to talk Hemingway with," Jess told her.

"That's not true. He loved you Jess," Rory said, her tears subsiding for the moment, "We have to go to Stars Hollow."

"Yeah. I told Luke this morning I would call once we had our plans set. I already talked to the guys so you just need to let your editor know," Jess said.

"We can stop on the way home. You were supposed to take me to work anyway," Rory said, "I'll just go in and tell him I have to go back to Connecticut for awhile."

"Okay. I'll get everything packed when we get back and then we'll head out," Jess said.

"Sounds good," Rory said, "Thank you."

"For what?" Jess asked.

"Dealing with my craziness. All the tears. For letting me ruin your shirt," Rory said, lifting her head a bit to see that the top of his shirt was soaked through from her tears.

"Always. I love you and all your craziness," Jess said, kissing her briefly when they heard a knock on the door, "Come in."

"Is everything okay in here?" Doctor Sanders asked.

"It will be," Jess said, giving Rory's hand a squeeze as he looked into her eyes to see if he could share their sad news with the doctor; continuing when she nodded, "Um, we got some bad news this morning. Rory's grandfather passed away."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Doctor Sanders said.

"And we decided a couple weeks ago that we would name the baby after him if it was a boy like we thought," Rory said, "Now they'll never know each other."

"What was your grandfather's name, if you don't mind my asking?" Doctor Sanders asked.

"Richard. Richard Gilmore," Rory said, placing her hand on her stomach, "And this one is Richie. Richard Holden Mariano."

"That's a good strong name," Doctor Sanders said, "I'm sure you're grandfather is very proud of you."

"Thank you," Rory said.

"We should get going," Jess said, "I'm sure you have other patients to see and we have a long drive ahead of us back to Connecticut."

"Yes, well, again, I'm very sorry for your loss," Doctor Sanders said, handing Jess the envelope with the sonogram pictures, "Take care of her Jess."

"I will," Jess said, shaking the doctor's hand before following Rory out of the room to the car.

* * *

After leaving the doctor's office Jess drove to _The Inquirer_ so Rory could inform her editor of Richard's passing. He called Luke back while Rory was inside, telling him they would be there in a few hours. Rory also stopped in to see Kara and Lacey, letting them know what was going on. Both offered their condolences and asked that Rory let them know when services would be so they could come up for it. After packing up what he figured they would need for a few days, Jess and Rory began the longest trip they would ever take towards their old home of Stars Hollow, Connecticut.

* * *

 **AN:** I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please don't hate me, I'm sorry. I don't know how Amy did it when writing for A Year In The Life. I always planned this. From the moment I wrote _Fifteen Years Gone_ and began writing _That Part Always Worked_ I knew I was going to have Richard die while Rory was pregnant and it was the hardest thing I've ever written.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** It's been awhile again. I'm sorry, but it's partly due to retail life and it being November. Also partly because I had a friend visit from out of town for several days and we attend Tree Hill Takes Chicago, the One Tree Hill convention that was in Chicago the 11th-13th. It was a lot of fun. I have a few pictures and videos that can be found on my Instagram and twitter, including my pinned tweet of Chad Michael Murray answering a fan's question on where he thought Tristan would be now. Anyway, on to the next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 11: "But a Hunter hug can make everything better."

* * *

Having everything planned and organized already due to Richard's previous health problems there wasn't much for Rory and Jess to do when they got to the Gilmore house in Hartford so Jess took to helping Luke in the kitchen as he prepared lunch for everyone while Rory took over keeping an eye on Hunter while Lorelai sat with Emily in Richard's study.

"Not that I'm not happy to help, but why are we making lunch?" Jess asked.

"I think they're in between maids right now," Luke told him, "And anyway. I'm sure Rory and Lorelai like my cooking better."

"True. I'm going to take this up to Rory," Jess said, picking up the bowl of mixed fruit he cut up for her, "she didn't eat much of her breakfast."

"Jess!" Hunter yelled when Jess came into Rory's room and found the two of them seated on the floor playing with Hunter's toys.

"Hey, buddy," Jess said, joining them on the floor, handing the bowl the Rory as he kissed her cheek, "You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry," Rory said, setting the bowl down as she laid her head against Jess' shoulder.

"You hardly touched your breakfast and you didn't have me stop once on the way here," Jess told her.

"I know. Nothing sounds appetizing right now," Rory told him, "I feel like if I try to eat anything I'll just end up throwing it up."

"I'm sorry," Jess said, leaning his forehead against hers, giving her a brief kiss as he wiped away the tear that fell with his thumb, "I wish I knew what to say, what to do, to make you feel better."

"Don't be, you're doing everything I need you to do just by being here," Rory told him, laying her head back on his shoulder.

"Rory, sad?" Hunter asked, walking over to his sister, sitting on her lap and laying a hand on her cheek.

"Yeah, little brother. I'm very sad," Rory told him, pulling him closer to her to give him a hug, "But a Hunter hug can make everything better."

"Miss, Grandpa," Hunter said, sadly, laying his head on Rory's shoulder as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Me, too, buddy," Rory told him, kissing the top of his head, "Me, too."

* * *

"You know there is going to be a lot of people there today," Rory said as Jess zipped up her dress for her.

"Well, Richard knew a lot of people. He was loved by many," Jess said.

"There's a good chance he'll be there, you know," Rory told him, "Can you handle that?"

"I know. I don't exactly relish the thought of spending time with the guy who once upon a time proposed to you, but I've accepted the fact that he was part of your life for a pretty long time and he knows your grandparents," Jess said.

"As does his entire family," Rory said.

"Right, so while I don't exactly like the guy, I get that he'll probably be there and we'll have to talk to him," Jess said.

"And you'll talk nicely?" Rory asked.

"I'll be civil," Jess told her, "For whatever reason your grandfather liked the guy so he can't be all bad, I guess."

"Thank you," Rory said, giving him a kiss, before looking at the clock on the nightstand of her room at her grandparents, "We need to get going."

* * *

"How are you feeling kid?" Lorelai asked Rory as she sat next to her on the couch in the Gilmore's living room after the last guest left.

"Tired. Sad. And my feet hurt," Rory told her as she moved to lay her head in Lorelai's lap so she could set her feet up on the couch.

"Better not let your Grandmother catch you with your feet on her couch," Lorelai said, running her fingers through Rory's hair.

"I took my shoes off," Rory said, closing her eyes as Lorelai's actions began to soothe her.

"I expected to see Logan today," Lorelai said.

"Honor said he wasn't able to leave work," Rory told her.

"You think that's true?" Lorelai asked.

"It's possible, but I'm sure he just thought it would be weird, you know, so he just made up an excuse and didn't come," Rory said.

"Did you want him to be here?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know. Part of me feels like he should have been. His family has known Grandma and Grandpa forever and he was there the last time Grandpa was in the hospital so he knows how close we were," Rory said.

"You're not together anymore sweets so he's not automatically obligated to come," Lorelai said.

"Neither are you and Dad, but he came," Rory told her, "And if Dad and Luke can be civil around each other than so can Logan and Jess."

"True. I imagine it was either too hard for him or like you said he figured it would be too weird or uncomfortable," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, probably," Rory said, trying to hold back a yawn.

"You should get to bed," Lorelai told her.

"It's still early," Rory said.

"Yes, but it's been a stressful few days and you're pregnant. If you're tired you should sleep," Lorelai said, "You need to do what's best for my little grandbaby."

"Richie," Rory mumbled, running her hand across her bump.

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"Richie. That's his name," Rory said.

"It's a boy?" Lorelai questioned, "For real, not just you and Jess thinking it?"

"For real," Rory told her, sitting up to grab her purse from the chair next to her to show Lorelai the sonogram.

"When did you…" Lorelai began looking at the sonogram and stopping when she noticed the date.

"I had to know. It was already planned and with everything I just...I had to know," Rory said.

"I get it sweets. I do," Lorelai said, "Believe me. I didn't want to believe it myself. I could barely get the words out to Jess when I called. I think I may have actually dropped the phone while I was talking to him."

"You did," Jess said, joining them on the couch where Rory had placed her head back in Lorelai's lap, "Luke had to pick up the phone and finish telling me what was going on."

"I guess we were both pretty out of it," Rory said, stretching her legs so they were on Jess' lap.

"Comfortable?" Jess asked, looking down at her with a smile as he ran his hand up and down her calf before moving lower to massage her feet.

"Very," she said, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the feeling of her husband massaging her feet and her mother massaging her scalp.

"So you're officially having a boy," Lorelai whispered.

"Yeah, we're officially having a boy," Jess said.

"Congratulations, Jess," Lorelai said.

"Thanks. I know you were hoping for another Gilmore Girl," he said.

"Next time," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, next time," Jess said, "I'm excited to have a son, as scary as it will be to have a little boy like me to raise, but a little girl like Rory in a few years would make our little family absolutely perfect."

"Rory said you're naming him Richie?" Lorelai asked.

"Well, Richard, officially," Jess said, "Richard Holden Mariano. But we decided we'd call him, Richie."

"Richard Holden, I like it," Lorelai said, "Dad would, too."

"I should get her upstairs," Jess said, moving Rory's legs off his lap so he could get up before picking her up, "Goodnight, Lorelai."

"Night, Jess," Lorelai said.

* * *

Two weeks after the phone call from Lorelai, Jess and Rory were still in Hartford staying with Emily. Lorelai and Luke returned to Stars Hollow a couple days after the funeral. There were events at the Dragonfly Lorelai needed to be in town for, but they had come back to Hartford for dinner several times. Not wanting to leave Emily alone just yet, Rory and Jess offered to stay awhile longer. Matt and Chris could handle the store without him and Rory's editor had told her to take as long as she needed so after a trip to the mall for a few more outfits, Rory and Jess were set to stay in Rory's room at the Gilmore's for as long as Emily needed them.

"That was our lawyer on the phone," Emily said, rejoining Jess and Rory at the table during breakfast, "He'll be by this afternoon to discuss your grandfather's will."

"His will?" Rory asked.

"Yes, Richard had everything all arranged, but we had to wait until Quentin came back from visiting his mother in Europe," Emily said, "He's back now and he'll be over to read everything. It's formality really, as his wife most things are left to me, but there are a few things Richard wanted to leave you and your mother that Quentin said he wanted to address."

"I don't really care what Grandpa decided to leave me, Grandma, no offense," Rory said, pushing her plate away from her and standing up, "If you'll excuse me, I'm not so hungry anymore."

"Her appetite has been off lately," Jess said, standing up to follow Rory, "Excuse me, Emily."

"She's talking about us finding out what Grandpa left us like it's some big prize," Rory said as Jess joined her on the patio by the pool house, laying a blanket around her shoulders, "You know, I haven't been in there since that summer I lived here. The last time I was in there was just before Grandma forced me out after she found out Logan and I had been having sex in there. They were so disappointed in me to learn that, Grandpa especially."

"I don't think he was disappointed in you," Jess told her, wrapping his arms around her to be sure she was warm enough.

"No, he was. He hid away in his study nearly the entire length of the twenty-first birthday party my grandmother threw for me," Rory said, "And Grandma barely talked to me. I think if she could without offending the guests she would have avoided me that whole night, too."

"It just wasn't what they were expecting, that's all," Jess said, "Even with your Mom having you at sixteen. Your grandparents are from this generation where couples waited until they got married and had formal courtships. They didn't exactly like that we lived together before we got married, you know."

"That's true," Rory said, leaning her head back to rest against him, "Do you want to see it?"

"The pool house?" Jess asked.

"Yeah," Rory said.

"Sure," Jess said.

* * *

A few hours later, Lorelai and Luke arrived, having left Hunter with Sookie for the afternoon. The five of them sat quietly in the dining room, awaiting Quentin's arrival, the chair at the head of the table ominously empty.

"I'll get it," Lorelai said a few minutes later when the doorbell rang, eager to get the meeting with her father's lawyer over with.

"Lorelai, it's nice to see you," Quentin said, "It's been a long time. I wish it was under better circumstances, of course."

"Good to see you, too, Quentin. Everyone's in the dining room," Lorelai told him.

"Emily," Quentin said, giving her a brief hug and kissing her cheek before taking the seat left open for him next to Luke on his and Lorelai's side of the table.

"Go ahead, Quentin," Emily said after the maid poured him a cup of coffee.

"Of course. So the basics of Richard's will state that his pension and the majority of his assets go to his wife," Quentin said, "He did leave a monetary amount to both his daughter and grandchildren, as well as a trust fund for his great-grandson and a stipend for any future great-grandchildren."

"He set up a trust fund for Richie?" Rory asked, laying her hand on her stomach.

"There's no name listed, but yes," Quentin, "He said you didn't have the ultrasound to back it up, but that you were certain he was having a great-grandson."

"I told him a few weeks ago," Rory said, "We didn't find out for sure until the day he...I can't believe he was so sure we were right."

"Your grandfather had faith in you Rory," Emily told her.

"Yeah, I guess he did," Rory said, taking hold of Jess' hand as they waited to hear what else Quentin had to say.

"Richard also made requests for a few other things for a few of you," Quentin said, "He has letters written for each of you stating his reasons for things he's left you, his last goodbyes and so on."

"Thank you," Lorelai said, taking the letter Quentin handed her.

"Now, one thing we need to discuss before I go is what Richard left for you, Mr. Mariano," Quentin said.

"Me? What could Richard have possibly left me?" Jess asked.

"It's all in here," Quentin told him, handing him a folder, "I need you and Rory to read everything over and after a few signatures everything will be official."

"Official? What's official?" Rory asked, glancing at the pages Jess held in his hand.

"Oh, my," Jess said.

"Is that?" Rory asked.

"Yeah," he told her.

"What is it?" Lorelai asked.

"He bought the space I was looking at for Truncheon II," Jess said, "He bought it and left it to me. I can't believe this."

"Richard planned to gift the building to you himself," Quentin said, "When he had me draw up the paperwork for it, he said he wasn't sure you would accept it as a gift and was planning to maybe wait until your anniversary or your birthday when you would be obligated to accept a gift."

"This is incredible. I can't believe that the competing offer on the space that I eventually lost out to was Richard," Jess said.

"I told you he loved you," Rory told him, "He loved you and he believed in your writing and faith in your as a business owner."

"I just really can't believe that the space is mine, ours," Jess said, "Now we just have to find a place to live and we'll be all set to move. **"**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:** Okay, so it's a little weird writing for a post finale world when we are now post revival, but I like the stories I have created for my post finale universe and I'm sticking to them. I did have thoughts for stories as I watched the revival and I may one day write a story taking the revival into account, but for now I'm enjoying my made up world. Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 12: "A book with Holden Caulfield given by another Richard. It's perfect for your Richard Holden."

* * *

"Hey, Grandma?" Rory asked, coming into the living room after looking through Richard's books in his study.

"Yes, dear," Emily said.

"I love that Grandpa left me his books, but can they just stay here?" Rory asked.

"You don't want to take any of them with you?" Emily asked.

"Maybe a couple, but it just doesn't seem right," Rory said, "They belong in there, on those shelves."

"I know what you mean," Emily said, "Of course. Anytime you want to come and visit your new books, you are more than welcome."

"Thank you. I do want to take a few that I really like," Rory told her, "And I was thinking about taking that first edition _Catcher in the Rye_ to set up in the baby's room."

"That would be perfect," Emily said, "A book with Holden Caulfield given by another Richard. It's perfect for your Richard Holden."

"Are you okay with us using Grandpa's name?" Rory asked.

"It's perfect, Rory. Your grandfather would be so proud of you. You've been so strong through all this," Emily said, "And such a big help to me these past few weeks."

"I don't feel so strong. If I could stay in bed and cry all day I would, but I know Grandpa would want me, all of us, really to continue you on and just keep living our lives," Rory said.

"That's very true. It's hard. This house feels so empty without him in it," Emily said.

"You're not thinking of leaving are you?" Rory asked.

"It's crossed my mind. This house is so big. It was too big for just the two of us, really, but it's our home. I've lived here over half my life," Emily said, "I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. And if I stay here, I feel like Richard is still with me."

"He is Grandma," Rory told her, throwing an arm around her and laying her head on her shoulder, "He's always going to be around."

* * *

"Feels good to be home," Rory said, sitting down on their couch when she and Jess walked into their apartment a few days later.

"Yeah, I missed our bed. How do you feel?" Jess asked, sitting next to her.

"Tired and my feet hurt," Rory said, moving to lay down so she could put her legs in his lap.

"Are you sure you want to go back to work right away tomorrow?" Jess asked, massaging her feet and ankles.

"I've been gone almost a month, it's time to go back," Rory said, "Plus Kara and Lacey said there's been some changes recently and there's a big meeting tomorrow."

"What about?" Jess asked.

"They've heard rumors of the paper being sold," Rory told her.

"What would that mean for your jobs?" Jess asked.

"No idea. Not that it matters since we're moving anyway," Rory told him, "But, I imagine whoever buys it would review everyone's work and keep the people who do their job well. It wouldn't be very good for the future of the paper to get rid of everybody."

"That's, true," Jess told her, moving to get up from the couch, "Okay, I'm going to get our things upstairs and get dinner ordered."

"I'll be here," Rory said, making herself comfortable on the couch as Jess threw a blanket over here.

"Rest. I'll wake you up when the food gets here," Jess told her, kissing her forehead and her stomach, "I love you, both of you."

"We love you, too," Rory told him.

* * *

"Welcome back, Rory," Lacey said, giving her a hug, "How are you?"

"Good. It feels good to be back," Rory said, "It will be nice getting back to my normal routine."

"You've grown since we last saw you," Kara said, "Do you mind?"

"No, go ahead," Rory told her as Kara laid a hand on her stomach, "I feel like I'm getting bigger by the minute some days."

"Has Jess felt him kick yet?" Lacey asked, taking a turn to touch Rory's stomach.

"Not yet," Rory told them, "He's been kicking me pretty good, but nothing yet on the outside."

"Hopefully soon, then," Kara said, "My sister didn't feel any kicks at all until she twenty-four weeks."

"And I'm twenty-three so probably soon," Rory said.

"Rory, welcome back," Michael said, coming into Rory's office, "My condolences, again."

"Thank you," Rory said.

"We have a staff meeting this afternoon, but I'd like to speak with you in my office after you get settled in," he told her.

"Sure. I'll be in, in a few minutes," Rory said, taking her coat off and laying her bag on her desk.

"I wonder what that's about," Kara said.

"No idea. You think the staff meeting is about the sale?" Rory asked.

"Possibly, though we haven't seen anyone around checking things out or heard it was a definite thing," Lacey said.

* * *

"Rory, good. Come in and have a seat," Michael instructed when she knocked on his door, pausing when she saw Michael wasn't the only person in the room, "I believe you two already know each other."

"Yes, we do," Rory said, sitting down in the seat across from Michael's desk, turning to face the man seated next to her, "Mr. Huntzberger."

"We've known each other for nearly ten years, Rory. You can call me Mitchum," he told her.

"I'll stick with Mr. Huntzberger, thanks," Rory said, turning back to her editor, "What's this about, Michael?"

"I imagine you've heard from your coworkers about the rumors of a sale," he said.

"I have," Rory said, turning to look at Mitchum again, "I suppose that's why you're here then."

"Yes. I've been looking at _The Inquirer_ for some time now and have decided it would be a good fit for HPG," Mitchum said.

"And you're telling me before announcing it to everyone else because…?" she asked.

"Given our history and recent events it seemed like the right thing to do," Mitchum told her.

"And you couldn't have told me this when you saw me three weeks ago at the funeral?" Rory asked, "At least then it would have saved me the trouble of coming back to work. I could have had someone pack up my things for me."

"Pack your things? Why would you do that?" Michael asked.

"He hasn't told you?" Rory asked, standing up and starting towards the door, "According to Mr. Huntzberger, I'm wasting everyone's time because 'I don't have it.' I'll have my office packed and my resignation for you by the end of the day."

"Don't do that Ace," she heard as soon as she opened the door.

"Logan," Rory whispered, catching a glimpse of his face before her legs gave out and her eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed to the floor.

* * *

"Hey, Book Tease. Good to see those beautiful eyes again," Jess said as Rory began to wake while he watched her from the chair next to her bed, "You gave us all quite a scare, you know."

"Sorry," she said, reaching her hand out to touch his cheek, "What happened?"

"You don't remember?" he asked.

"It's fuzzy," she told him, "I remember being in Michael's office with Mitchum and I got up to leave, but...Logan! Logan was there."

"Yeah, he brought you here after you passed out," Jess said, "He called me on the way here. Never did I ever think I'd be talking to him again or get a phone call like that. You had me so scared, Ror."

"Everything's okay though, right?" Rory asked, laying her hand on her still round stomach, "Richie's alright, isn't he?"

"He's fine," Jess told her, laying his hand over hers, "The first thing the doctor did after checking out everything with you was do an ultrasound to be sure he was okay."

"So you saw him and heard his heartbeat? He's okay?" Rory asked again.

"He's perfect," Jess told her, "You however."

"What? What's wrong with me?" Rory asked, worried something was wrong that could hurt their baby.

"Your blood pressure was high. They think the stress of everything the past few weeks…" he began.

"Plus the shock of seeing the guy I haven't seen since I rejected his proposal six years ago, not to mention the man I like least in the world," Rory said.

"Yeah, it was all too much for you to handle and your body reacted to protect itself," Jess said.

"But, everything's okay, now right?" Rory asked.

"Seems to be so far," Jess said, "Logan said you started to come to when they were looking you over before I got here so they gave you something to help you sleep. The monitor's they have you hooked up to haven't done any crazy beeping or anything and you're awake now so I'd say you're doing better, but I'm not a doctor."

"You should probably go get one then, I guess," Rory said.

"Probably. I'll be back soon," he said laying his hand back on her stomach as he gave her a kiss before standing up to leave.

"Hey, Ace, how are you feeling?" Logan asked, walking into the room after Jess left.

"What?" Rory asked, turning her head to face him as he walked towards her, surprised he had stayed.

"Jess didn't want you to be alone," Logan said, "And I couldn't just leave without knowing how you were."

"Thank you," Rory said, reaching out to take hold of his hand when he sat down in the chair Jess had been sitting in.

"You don't have to thank me, Rory. I want to be here," Logan told her.

"Yeah, but I was also thanking you for getting me here and I'm guessing for catching me before I hit the ground," Rory said, "I wager I'd have a pretty massive headache right now if you hadn't."

"Anytime, Ace," he told her with a smile, giving her hand a squeeze when he noticed her frown, "What's wrong? Are you in pain?"

"No, I'm fine," she told him, "You didn't come to the funeral."

"I know. I stopped by the cemetery after everyone left and went back to your grandparents house to pay my respects," he told her, "I didn't want to intrude or have things be awkward."

"I was preparing myself for you to be there and it made me kind of sad that you weren't," Rory told him.

"I'm sorry, Rory. I wanted to be there, for you and for Emily," Logan said, "But, it just didn't seem like my place anymore."

"You knew my grandparents long before we ever got together, Logan. You could have come," Rory said.

"I know. I wasn't sure if I could handle it either, though. Seeing you and him," Logan said, "I knew you had gotten married. My mother mentioned it once. I didn't know about the baby, though."

"Today must have been a surprise for you, too, then," Rory said.

"No, Honor told me after she saw you. Dad had been looking into buying the paper for awhile and she knew we were going to be coming here and I'd have to see you so she wanted me to be prepared for it," Logan said.

"Oh. Why are you here?" Rory asked.

"I had to know you were okay. I know it's been a long time, but I still care about you," Logan said.

"No, thank you for that, but I meant why were you at the paper and with your dad?" Rory asked.

"I went back to HPG last year," he told her.

"Why?" Rory asked.

"It was time. I enjoyed my time away. I loved my job, but California was getting too lonely and I missed Honor and her kids too much," Logan said.

"Yeah, she showed me pictures of the twins," Rory said, "They're adorable."

"And they use it, too, trust me," Logan told her, "Anyway, Dad had been wanting to step back a bit and try and be a good grandfather by not working as much so when I expressed interest in returning to the east coast he offered the spot as his second in command."

"And this is what you want?" Rory asked.

"Absolutely. I wouldn't have gone back to working for my Dad if I didn't want it and it wasn't done my way," Logan said.

"Good. I'm glad you're happy," Rory said.

"I'm glad you're happy, too," he told her, "Now, about that resignation you were talking about. You're not really going to quit just because Dad is buying the paper?"

"I don't know. It doesn't really matter though since I have to quit anyway," Rory told him.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"We're moving to New York," Rory said.

"New York? Really? Why?" Logan asked, "Did you get another job up there?"

"No, not yet. I figured I would take some time off since I'll have maternity leave soon anyway before I looked for another job," Rory said, "Jess is opening a bookstore in the city and I'd like to be closer to Mom and everyone, especially now with the baby and Grandpa being gone."

"Does anyone at the paper know? Michael never said anything when Dad and I were talking to him about the staff," Logan said.

"No, he doesn't know. We've talked about it for a few months, but it wasn't definite since we were waiting to buy the space Jess wanted," Rory said, "But we have it now so once we get an apartment we can move anytime. I just hadn't decided how much longer I wanted to stay at the paper before we moved. That will probably change now, though."

"What you mean because of your high blood pressure? You think the doctor will tell you to cut back on your work?" Logan asked.

"If the doctor doesn't, I'm sure Jess will," Rory said.

"Probably. I would," he told her with a smile, looking towards the door as they heard a knock, "You can come in."

"Is everything okay in here?" Jess asked, cautiously opening the door.

"We're good. Thanks for giving us a few minutes, Jess," Logan said, shaking his hand when he walked in the room, "I'll see you later, Ace."

"Bye," Rory said as he gave her a hug before leaving so the doctor could look her over.

* * *

"We need to talk," Logan told his Dad when he walked into their hotel room after leaving the hospital.

"Is Rory alright?" Mitchum asked.

"She's fine. They came in to check her over as I was leaving. Jess called me as I was pulling in and said they were going to keep her overnight for observation, but that she was fine. Her and the baby both," Logan said.

"That's good," Mitchum said, "That was quite the scary moment seeing her go down like that."

"You're telling me," Logan said.

"Any idea if the doctor is going to let her come back to work?" Mitchum asked.

"Jess said she is cleared to work. She just has to watch her stress levels. Though if Jess has his way she'd start maternity leave now," Logan said, "Not that it matters anyway."

"Why's that?" Mitchum asked, "She's not quitting just because we're buying the paper?"

"No, but she is leaving," Logan said, "She hadn't told Michael or anyone yet, but they've been planning a move to New York for awhile. Jess is opening another bookstore there and Rory wants to be closer to her family."

"New York, huh," Mitchum said, sporting a smirk similar to his son's.

"Yep," Logan said.

"Does she have a job lined up already?" Mitchum asked.

"Nope. She said she was planning to just take time off since she's nearing the end of her pregnancy and would be off for awhile anyway after the baby is born," Logan said.

"Good. When are you going to make her an offer?" Mitchum asked.

"I was thinking before we leave," Logan said, "I'll give her a few days to rest and see if she'll agree to dinner or something with me."

"Do you think she'll accept?" Mitchum asked.

"It's her dream," Logan said, "I know she's not crazy about the idea of working for you, but we're offering her, her dream job. She'll accept."


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:** Wow! So 16 new followers to this story and 12 reviews on my last chapter! Plus this story has received over two thousand reviews in the past week. That's amazing. Thank you all so much. I'm glad you are enjoying my version on the post season 7 world of Gilmore Girls! Here's your next chapter. Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 13: "It's your choice, Ace."

* * *

"What exactly is this dinner about?" Jess asked as he stood at the stove in their kitchen tending to his pot of pasta sauce, "And why are we hosting it if it was his idea?"

"Logan said he needed to discuss something with me, with us," Rory told him, laying dishes out on their dining room table, "He suggested a restaurant, but not knowing what's going on, I didn't really want to risk putting the two of you in an enclosed, public space."

"Hey, we can get along," Jess told her.

"Yes, when you're in agreement with something, like the well-being of me and our unborn child, but I'd rather not risk the two of you having to be civil in a public setting," Rory told him, "So I suggested they come here."

"They?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, when I gave him the address he said 'we'll be there.' I'm not sure who the other have of 'we' is. It could be Mitchum," Rory said, "They may want to discuss whether or not I'll come back to the paper before we move."

"You've only been home three days," Jess said, slicing a loaf of bread in half and spreading the roasted garlic butter he had prepared earlier onto it before placing it in the oven, "Surely they didn't expect you to go back right away."

"No, of course not. In fact, I imagine Logan would agree with you on me staying home for the duration of my pregnancy," Rory told him.

"Huh, I'm liking the guy more and more," Jess said, coming up behind her, placing his arms around her and caressing her bump, "I just want you both to be healthy."

"We are," she told him, setting down the plate that was in her hand and turning to face him, "And trust me, if the doctor said I had to stay in bed for the next sixteen weeks to insure the health and safety of Richie, I would do it. I wouldn't like it and I would be bored out of my mind, but I would do it."

"I know you would," he told her, kissing her lips, keeping a hand on her stomach, "Did he just?"

"Yeah, that's the first time it's been that strong," Rory said, laying her hand next to Jess' as they felt their little boy kick against their palms, "I love you, Dodger."

"I love you, too, Book Tease," Jess said, kissing her again before leaning down to kiss her stomach as Richie continued to kick, "And I love you, too, son, so very much."

"They're here," Rory said, hearing the buzz of the door indicating someone wanted into the apartment, wiping away the tears that had started to fall, "I'll let them in and you get back to getting our dinner finished. Richie is hungry."

* * *

"Hey, Ace," Logan said coming into the apartment a few minutes later, "Hey, are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Rory said, wiping away the stray tears that were continuing to fall, "Just hormones."

"You're sure? You're not in any pain or anything?" Logan asked as she let him and his companion into the apartment.

"I'm fine, Logan. You don't need to worry," Rory told him.

"Okay, well, Ace, Jess, I'd like you to meet…" Logan began.

"Louise?" Rory questioned, seeing her old Chilton classmate, "What?"

"I'm dating Logan," Louise told her.

"Since when? He wasn't your boyfriend when we went to your New Year's party," Rory said.

"No, he wasn't. I found out a few days after that, that he had been seeing someone behind my back," Louise told her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Louise," Rory told her, leading her towards the couch so they could talk, leaving the men in the kitchen.

"Drink?" Jess asked Logan.

"Whatever you're having is fine," Logan told him.

"I've got a good red that goes nicely with the pasta," Jess told him, "But, from the look of things over there, I think you may need something stronger."

"Yeah, maybe, How did I not realize that Rory and Louise knew each other," Logan said, "I mean, I know she told me she went to Chilton, but I never expected her and Rory to be friends, you know."

"I get what you mean, they're very different people," Jess said.

"I guess, it's partly on me. I never mentioned Rory to her by name and if they haven't been in contact this whole time, I don't imagine Louise ever knew we dated," Logan said.

"True, plus it doesn't seem you've been dating that long. It's March and twelve weeks ago Louise had a different boyfriend last Rory knew," Jess said.

"Right, this is going to be bad for me, isn't it?" Logan asked as the two of them stood together in the kitchen watching Rory and Louise whispering things to each other.

"Oh, I hope so," Jess told him, with a slight laugh.

"Hey, you're a guy. You're supposed to be on my side," Logan told him.

"But, that's not fun," Jess said.

* * *

"So, how long are we going to make him think we're over here swapping secrets about him?" Louise asked as she took a glance towards the kitchen, watching Jess pour Logan another glass of scotch.

"Just a little longer," Rory told her, "Come on. Let me show you the apartment."

"We'll be back," Louise said, linking her arm with Rory's as they walked towards the stairs.

"I'm giving Louise a tour. I expect dinner will be ready when we come back down?" Rory asked, rubbing her free hand along her stomach, "We're hungry!"

"Five minutes. I just have to drop the pasta," Jess told her.

"Wow, that's a lot of books," Louise said walking around, reading a few titles on their bookshelves.

"And they're not all mine," Rory told her.

"Who knew there was somebody out there who read as much as you do," Louise told her.

"So, how come you never called and told me about Logan?" Rory asked, "You've been together for two months."

"I wasn't sure how. It was all still new and I didn't know if it would last," Louise said, "Plus, he never brought you up so I didn't want to open old wounds by telling him I knew you if I didn't have to."

"Makes sense," Rory said, "So you like him?"

"A lot," Louise said, a smile forming on her face, "He's so different than other guys I've dated. He actually cares about my opinions. And he's generally interested in my job. He's even had be design a few things for Honor and Shira."

"Does she approve?" Rory asked.

"Who, Shira? Not at all," Louise told her, "But, I got the impression she wouldn't be happy with anyone she didn't pick for him herself."

"Very true. Plus, you work and that's strictly forbidden in Shira-World," Rory said.

"Doesn't stop her from asking Madeline to do her hair for her whenever she's in the city and buying a few pieces when she comes in," Louise said.

"I'll never understand that woman and I stopped trying a long time ago," Rory said.

"So, you think we've tortured Logan, long enough?" Louise asked.

"Yeah, we better get back down before he thinks I've told you all his secrets," Rory said, "Besides, I'm starving."

"Well, let's get you fed. Both of you," Louise said, tentatively reaching out a hand to touch Rory's stomach, continuing when she received a nod of approval from Rory, "He kicked."

"Yeah, I've felt him for awhile now, but just before you got here, Jess got to feel him for the first time," Rory said.

"Hence the tears," Louise said as she followed Rory back downstairs.

"Exactly," Rory said, blinking back the tears threatening to fall as she remembered the feeling of her hand and Jess' on her stomach as Richie kicked them both.

"Have you been crying?" Jess asked, seeing her slightly red eyes.

"I'm fine. Louise felt him kick," Rory told him, laying a hand back on her stomach, "And I was remembering just before they got here. Hormone's, you know. They can be a bitch sometimes."

* * *

The conversation flowed casually as the four of them sat down to enjoy the meal Jess prepared for them. Everything was running smoothly until Jess couldn't hide his amusement any longer at the sight of Logan constantly glancing between Rory and Louise as he wondered what their conversation had been about and what exactly Rory may have told Louise about him. His laughter, earning him a smack on the arm from Rory as she stifled her own prompting Louise to explain to Logan what she had already told Rory and Rory insisting to him that all she and Louise talked about was the baby and Louise and Madeline's store.

"So, I guess you're wondering why I wanted to have dinner," Logan said as they settled into the living room with coffee and dessert.

"You mean you didn't have an overwhelming desire to hang out in our kitchen with me for fun?" Jess asked.

"No, as surprisingly enjoyable as I've found your company to be, I did have a reason for coming here tonight," Logan said.

"And that is?" Rory asked.

"I have a job offer for you," Logan told her.

"A job? I already told you we were moving to New York so I'm leaving _The Inquirer_ ," Rory said.

"I know. That's why I'm not offering you a job within _The Inquirer_ ," Logan said.

"Then, where?" Rory asked.

"New York," Logan said.

"I don't just want to work for a Huntzberger paper because the opportunity is there," Rory said.

"I know that and you can sit down with whoever you want for an interview if you feel it's necessary, but just know, the job is yours if you want it," Logan told her.

"Where?" she asked again.

" _The Times_ ," he said.

"The..the New York _Times_?" Rory asked, "Since when is that a Huntzberger paper?"

"Officially not for another couple of months," Logan said, "Unofficially, since the beginning of the year. The sale hasn't gone public yet, but Dad brought _The New York Times_ into the Huntzberger fold just after Christmas."

"Wow! That's...wow," Rory said.

"It's actually how Louise and I met," Logan said.

"Really?" Rory questioned.

"Yeah, I had just ended things with Josh a few days before and Logan was in the city with Mitchum to meet with the _Times_ when we ran into each other, literally outside a coffee shop," Louise said.

"She dropped her coffee so I offered to buy her another," Logan said, "We ended up sitting there most of the afternoon talking and we've been talking and spending time together ever since."

"Wow, that's so sweet," Rory said, "So, what would the job entail?"

"Whatever you want really," Logan said, "I'd had the idea in mind for awhile of offering you a place there and Dad agreed. We didn't know about the baby then so I don't know how much or what work you would want to do, but ideally it's up to you."

"Up to me? You're telling me I could essentially have my pick of jobs at _The New York Times_? Be serious, Logan," Rory said.

"I am serious, Ace. There's a job at the paper for you, doing whatever you want. Within reason, of course, but if you want to just right book reviews or movie reviews or you want to write a weekly column about whatever, it's all up to you," Logan told her.

"Wow. This is amazing, Logan," Rory told him, "When would I start?"

"Whenever you want. I don't know what the timetable is on your move, but you can start as soon as you get to New York, then take leave when the baby gets here," Logan told her, "You can write from home or wait to do any kind of work at all until after Richie is born. It's your choice, Ace."


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:** I'm back with a new chapter for It Still Works. My apologies, I work in retail so December and the first part of January are extremely busy for me. I also have a December birthday so with all that and the holidays, I wasn't able to devote the time I'd like to writing for my stories. There is a bit of a time jump in this chapter from the last one. Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 14: "Definitely. With you two as parents, this one is going to be reading before he can walk and talk,"

* * *

"So what do you think?" Jess asked, moving a few books around on the display he was working on, "Rory?"

"Hmm?" she mumbled, not looking up from the book she was reading as she staying curled up in the chair in the corner.

"Good book?" he asked, coming up behind her and taking a seat on the arm of the chair.

"What?" she asked, turning the page and continuing to read.

"Must be some book," he said, standing up to walk in front of her, "I've been sorting books in the nude for the past hour and you haven't looked up once."

"Uh, huh," she said, continuing to read her book with Jess still standing in front of her, looking up when he moved and cast a shadow over her book, "Hey, you're in my...wait...you're not nude."

"Oh, so you did hear that," Jess said, pulling her up out of the chair so he could take a seat before pulling her down into his lap.

"Jess, I'm too heavy to sit in your lap," Rory said, trying to get back up as he wrapped an arm around her waist, placing the other on her now thirty week bump.

"You'll never be too heavy for me," he told her, "I like you here. Now, tell me about this book that has you so captivated you didn't notice my hard work on that display."

"Jess, that display has been ready for a week. You've changed the books around a dozen times and they always end up back in the same place they started," she told him.

"I just want everything to be perfect. This is the first time I'm doing something on my own without the guys. This bookstore was my idea," he said, "We've spent the last six weeks getting everything ready for it. Getting all the books ordered and printing off extra copies of my books. I've had to interview and hire people to help out. If this place is a flop, it's all on me. And if it flops, I feel like I'm disappointing your grandfather. He believed in me. He believed in me enough to buy this place for me. I don't want to let him down."

"You could never disappoint him, Jess," Rory told him, "As long as you try, as long as you do your best, he'd be proud of you."

"I hope so," he said, kissing her, "So, the book."

" _Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth About Pregnancy and Childbirth_ ," Rory told him, closing the book to show him the title.

"Jenny McCarthy?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, it's great. It's totally honest and a complete change from the normal pregnancy books," Rory said.

"Didn't stop you from reading them, though," he told her.

"I like knowing things and I like reading," she said.

"True. Alright, so I think everything is as good as it's going to get," Jess said, "Are you ready to go home?"

"Yep, but we can stop first…" Rory began.

"For a black and white shake, yes, we'll get you your shake," Jess told her.

"You're the best husband," Rory said, kissing him before getting off his lap and taking his hand in hers so they could head out.

* * *

"Home sweet home," Jess said, his arm around Rory, supporting her as they walked into their apartment.

She fell asleep on the subway on the way home from the Shake Shack and was barely able to keep her eyes open as they walked the couple blocks from station. Once inside Jess picked her up and carried her through the apartment to their room.

A few weeks after Logan's offer, Rory and Jess were in New York looking at apartments. She gave her two weeks notice the first day she went back to _The Inquirer_ and they began to make plans to get things ready for Truncheon II and narrowing their search area for apartments since they knew that Rory was going to be working at _The New York Times_. After looking at several places, they fell in love with a four bedroom, three and half bathroom apartment on 86th street that was within five miles of both the Truncheon II location and _The New York Times_.

* * *

"You know what I love about this apartment?" Rory asked Jess the following morning as she sat in the bedroom they had made into their own personal library.

"I'm guessing right now it's the fact that Little Italy Pizza delivers and at eight in the morning, two hours before they open," Jess said, eyeing the three pieces in the box on the window seat next to her, "You've got some good persuasive skills."

"I've learned from the best. This chicken bacon ranch is amazing and the white broccoli," Rory told him, taking a bite of the third option she ordered, peppers and onions, "It's all so good. You want some?"

"I think I'll stick to normal breakfast food and make myself some pancakes," Jess said, kissing her forehead.

"Suit yourself," she said, continuing to watch the traffic and people below as she finished off the white broccoli and moved on to taking another bite of the chicken bacon ranch.

"So what's on your agenda for today?" Jess asked, coming back in and joining her on the window seat with his plate of pancakes.

"I want to do a write up on that baby book for the website while it's still fresh in my head," she told him.

"You're liking doing that? Writing, but not being in the newsroom?" Jess asked.

After making their move to New York official Rory met with several people at _The Times_ to discuss what she would be doing and also feeling out if they were okay with Logan basically handing her a job. She had been surprised to discover that while Logan agreed with the idea, it had actually been Mitchum to suggest her name for employment when he looked into buying the paper. She was planning to go back to writing articles full time when Richie was a little older, but for now she was writing book reviews. She had written a few so far, doing a mix of new books and old classics. Her first was a glowing review of _The Fountainhead_ which prompted Jess to suggest she do one for a Hemingway novel as well.

"I love it. I'm getting paid to read and write about books," Rory told him, "It's a dream I never knew I had."

"And you're really not going to do a write up on a Hemingway like I suggested?" he asked.

"No. People are reading this and choosing to read or not read the books based on my opinions," she said, "If I give my opinion on a Hemingway, no one is going to want to read it.

"Come on. You don't think you could come up with a few nice things to say about dear old Ernest?" he asked.

"Nope, never going to happen," she said, "But, if it really interests you, you could always write one."

"What?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, you can do a review and it can done as a guest writer thing or something during my time away after I have Richie," Rory said, "Since I'm taking a few weeks off until I get my routine with him down, it would be the perfect time if you're interested."

"I'll think about it," Jess said, "So you don't miss all of it, having your own space, the hustle of it all?"

"A little, but I can get back to that after Richie is older. For now, I'm good doing what I'm doing," Rory told him, taking his hand in hers, "Besides, since I can read and write my reviews from anywhere I can spend more time helping you get the store ready as well as help run it if need be."

"I like that idea," Jess said, laying a hand on her cheek, giving her a kiss as he rubbed his other hand over her bump, "It's been nice having you both with me in the store these last few weeks."

"And we'll continue to be there," Rory told him, giving him a kiss, "But not today. Madeline and Louise are coming over this afternoon."

"What for?" Jess asked, helping her up off the window seat and walking with her out into the kitchen.

"It's been awhile since I had my hair done and it's getting warmer out so I want to cut off a little," Rory told him, "Madeline offered to come here, figuring it would be more comfortable than sitting in a salon chair while she does it and they haven't been here since we moved."

"You're not going to cut too much off are you?" Jess asked, running his fingers through her hair, twirling it at the ends, "I like your hair long."

"I'm thinking a few inches, maybe a little more," Rory told him, "It will be easier to deal with it shorter once Richie is born. Plus, the bigger I get the hotter and more uncomfortable I get so this is one thing I can do to help myself feel cooler."

"So like when you cut your hair your first year at Yale?" Jess asked.

"Probably. I wouldn't want to go any shorter than that," she told him.

"Good, I can work with that," he said, "It will be short enough to keep you cool and still have some length for me to run my fingers through."

* * *

"This place is amazing, Rory," Louise said as she and Madeline followed Rory through the apartment as she led them past the kitchen and into the living room.

"I love this view," Madeline said, stopping to look out the window, "I bet it's really pretty at night with all the lights."

"Gorgeous," Rory told them, "Come on, I'll give you a tour."

"Absolutely. That would be wonderful, but first, I brought something for you," Louise told her, unzipping the garment bag she brought with her, revealing a beautiful navy blue, knee length dress with lace sleeves.

"This is incredible, Louise," Rory told her, running her fingers over the silky fabric.

"I thought you could use something new and a little fancy for the opening on Saturday," Louise said.

"Thank you. It's perfect," Rory said, giving her a hug, "We can start the tour with our room so I can hang this up."

"It's a four bedroom?" Madeline asked as she and Louise followed Rory into the master bedroom, stepping into one of the walk-in closets so Rory could hang her new dress.

"Technically, yes. It's labeled as a four bedroom. There's this one, plus two on either side of the living room and the fourth, a guest suite with it's own bathroom, just off kitchen," Rory said, walking towards the sliding door of the master that was just next to her closet, "But, it also has this."

"Oh, Rory," Louise said, once Rory slid the door open, revealing a small room that could technically be labeled a fifth bedroom was really only big enough to be the room Rory and Jess had already turned it into, a nursery, "It's all so precious."

"I love all the little clothes," Madeline said, eyeing the handful of outfits Rory had set out on the dresser.

"I like the theme of the room," Louise said, "It's very you and Jess."

"We couldn't resist. We already had the crib and the rocking chair from Luke," Rory said, running her fingers along the letters of alphabet mobile hanging above the crib, "But on a trip to Serendipity 3, we stopped in at Buy Buy Baby a couple of blocks away and couldn't resist when we saw the bedding. We bought everything in the Dr. Seuss Alphabet collection they had."

"I love that the sheet has all the book titles on it," Madeline said, "It's perfect for Gilmore-Mariano baby."

"Definitely. With you two as parents, this one is going to be reading before he can walk and talk," Louise said.

"Well, I don't know about that, but he'll definitely know that books are important," Rory told them.

After leaving the nursery, Rory showed them the rest of the apartment. She showed them the guest room, their library, and the last bedroom that for now was still empty except for a few pictures on the walls and rug. Since they had the little room off of theirs that was perfect for the nursery so they could still keep Richie close as he grew up while also giving them privacy, they decided to leave this room empty, planning to turn it into Richie's room when he was older so they could have the nursery available for any future children.

* * *

A few hours after Madeline and Louise arrived, Rory's hair felt lighter and her body felt a bit cooler as she lay on the couch to take a nap after seeing her two friends out. Jess wouldn't be home for a couple more hours and with Richie liking to do a lot of his moving around at night, she had to get some of her sleeping hours in during the day.

"Rory," Jess said quietly as he kneeled down next to the couch, kissing her lips lightly and brushing his fingers along her forehead to push back the whispers of hair that had fallen into her face.

"You're home," Rory said, opening her eyes and reaching her head up to kiss him as he laid his hand on her bump, feeling Richie give a kick, "We missed you."

"I missed you," he told her, giving her another kiss before turning to talk to her belly, "Have you been a good boy for Mommy, today?"

"Very good. He was kicking quite a bit this morning, but he let me sleep from the time Madeline and Louise left at two until now," Rory told him.

"Wow, he let you sleep a good five hours," Jess told her.

"It's seven?" she asked, "You're back late tonight."

"Yeah, I had a late delivery of books show up and wanted to get them inventoried and put away," he said, getting up from the floor and pulling her up from the couch, "I brought home dinner."

"Great, I'm starved," Rory said, following him into the kitchen where is taking the Chinese take out containers out of a bag, "So, what do you think of my hair?"

"It's definitely shorter than what I'm used to seeing on you," he said, walking to her and playing with the ends of her hair before kissing her cheek, "But I love it. It's beautiful."

"Thank you," she said, "Now let's eat. Momma and baby are hungry."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: "Though I can't say it's much of a smoothie, it's green."

* * *

"Are you ready?" Jess asked, walking with Rory into the bookstore, his hands over eyes.

"Jess, I've seen the store before, several times in fact," Rory said, "You don't need to cover my eyes."

"Well, you haven't seen it since I added a couple of things," he said, "I wanted them to be a surprise."

"More surprises? Really, Jess," Rory said, "Unless you want me popping this kid out nine weeks early you may want to tone down the surprises."

"That's not going to happen," Jess said said, moving his hands so just one was covering her eyes, laying the other over her belly, "Richie knows his place is inside Mommy until it's time for him to come out."

"Yes, sure, cause you telling him to stay put is enough to make it so," Rory said, "Can I open my eyes now Jess?"

"Just one more second," he said, positioning her directly in front of the portrait on the wall, "Okay, now."

"Oh, Jess," Rory said, stepping up to run her fingers along the small plaque at the bottom of the portrait of Richard Gilmore, "In Loving Memory of our Grandfather and Fellow Book-lover, Richard Gilmore. This is great Jess. Thank you."

"He believed in this place. He deserves a place of honor," Jess said.

"He believed in you, Jess, not just the bookstore," Rory said, "Now what else did you add that wasn't here before?"

"Come with me," he said, taking her hand and leading her to the backroom, "I figured this would be nice for when Richie gets here."

"This is really great, Jess," Rory said, taking a seat in the rocking chair he had placed in a corner of the back room he had turned into a little nursery.

"This way you can still do your online thing if you want," Jess said, "Richie can sleep here while you work in my office or he can stay here if you need to go to the paper."

"I love it Jess. I'm not sure how much writing I'll do once Richie is born, but I love that you created a space here for him," Rory said, getting up from the chair with his help to hug him, "Having this here, I can even just spend the day here with you while you're working instead of staying in the apartment alone."

"That was kind of the idea," Jess said, "I don't know how busy the store will be once the summer gets here so having a space so the three of us can still be together during the day if I need to be here, seemed like a good idea."

"It's a great idea," she said, kissing him as she wrapped her arms around him, "Now let's get this store ready to open."

* * *

A couple hours later Truncheon II was filled with people. Luke and Lorelai had come up with Hunter. Their friends from Philly arrived the night before so Matt and Chris could help Jess with any last minute things if needed. Today, though, they were at the store strictly as patrons as they enjoyed the grand opening of Truncheon II with Kara and Lacey, appreciating the effort Jess had put into the new store. Jess hired a few college students from nearby New York University, including his cousin April who was in her second year at the university. Jess hired her to assist him with keeping track of the inventory and when Richie was born in July, April would be around to help run the store so Jess could stay home with Rory the first few weeks. She would be around today with the other three students Jess hired to help assist customers and keep the shelves filled and neat as people looked through their collection of second hand books and all the Truncheon published books.

"This store looks amazing, Rory," Kara said as she and Lacey walked through with Rory, checking out a few displays as Rory gave them a tour.

"Jess is doing a reading later, right?" Lacey asked.

"Yes, him a few of the other Truncheon author's are going to be reading some small excerpts from one of their books," Rory said, "Then this evening there is going to be an open mic for anyone to get up and perform or read any original work."

"That going to be a regular thing?" Kara asked.

"Jess is considering it. He wants to try it out tonight, gauge the response and then he said he may make it a once a week or once a month thing depending on the interest in it," Rory said.

"It could be a good way to find new authors," Lacey said.

"Perhaps. If anyone gets a big audience response to their work, Jess and the guys may look into publishing them," Rory said, "It would give him some editing work instead of just running the store when he's in between writing ideas."

"Hey, babe, I picked you up a smoothie at your husband's request," Lorelai said, coming up to them holding out a plastic cup, which Rory quickly grabbed and been sipping on, "Though I can't say it's much of a smoothie, it's green."

"It's supposed to be, Mom. It has spinach, swiss chard, and avocado," Rory said.

"That sounds like a really gross combination," Kara said.

"It has strawberries, too," Rory told her.

"And all this weird rabbit food," Lorelai said, "Who eats all those seeds?"

"They're good for you," Rory said, drinking more of her already have gone smoothie, "They're full of all those good omega fats. Plus it's delicious."

"I'll take your word for it and just stick to salmon to get my omega-3's," Kara said.

"I'm with you," Lacey said, "I'm all for eating healthy, but that is just too much."

"I'd happily eat a piece of salmon, because it's absolutely delicious, but Richie here," Rory said, patting her stomach, "Doesn't seem to like it. Or any seafood right now."

"Really, nothing?" Lorelai asked, "How long as that been going on?"

"About a month. I ate some seafood in the beginning, knowing the benefits it had was good for both of us, even though I wasn't a fan of most of it," Rory said, "But about a month ago Jess and I were taking a walk and we passed this restaurant. I nearly ran to avoid throwing up the smell nauseated me so bad."

"And you're sure it was the seafood?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, yes. The next night we went out to dinner and someone on the other side of the restaurant had ordered scallops and it got to me," Rory said, "So with that little issue, my doctor suggested I try alternatives so I still get all the nutrients I need. I'd had smoothies and juice from Juice Generation before. The I Heart Watermelon is delicious, but then I saw this on the menu and decided to give it a try."

"I guess if it works for you and keeps my grandson healthy and strong, you keep drinking, even though I think it's disgusting," Lorelai said.

"I plan to," Rory said, taking one last, long drink, being sure the cup is empty before throwing it out, "Yum."

* * *

"Everyone, thank you so much for coming out to the grand opening of Truncheon II," Jess said, standing on the small stage that sat in the corner of the store, "It means a lot to me and my family that so many of you came out today and we hope you continue to come back."

"It's a great feeling getting to own a business in the neighborhood I grew up in, to give something back, and have a space for kids to come that I wish we had when I was growing up here," Jess added, "I lived just a few blocks from here when I was a teenager. I spent everyday after school and even a few days when I should have been in school, sitting on a bench in Washington Square Park reading whatever books I could get my hands on."

"I loved living in Philly. I made some good friends and made a lot of really great memories," he said, pausing to give Rory one of his rare smiles, "Even my time in Connecticut wasn't so bad, but New York will always be home. I'm grateful to have a wife who not only shares my love and passion for the written word, but does an excellent job of writing some incredible words herself and dreamed of doing that in New York."

"So, to my wife, Rory, and our family and friends here today, I thank you for everything you've done to make today and this store possible. And to the man I wish could be here to see all of this, Richard Gilmore. We lost Richard a few months ago, but he is still very much apart of us. He believed in this store. He believed in me and none of this would have been possible without him."

"Now, before my mother-in-law passes out in shock as I'm sure this is the most she's ever heard me say ever, I'm going to pass the mic off to our first author, Alex Walker," Jess finished, handing the microphone to Alex as he stepped on the stage next to Jess.

* * *

A few hours later as the open mic began, Rory had relocated to the nursery Jess set up for Richie. Jess went back to get a few books from the storage room and saw her when he passed by. She was asleep in the rocking chair, her feet resting on the ottoman. After covering her with a blanket he went back out to the front to hand the books off to April before returning to Rory.

"Hey Book Tease. How long have you been back here?" he asked as she woke when he brushed her hair away from face and kissed her forehead.

"Couple hours, I think. You were in the middle of an interview so I just told Mom I was coming back here to rest," Rory said, "I didn't plan on falling asleep. I just wanted to put my feet up for a bit."

"If you were tired you should have told me. Someone could have taken you home," Jess said, giving her a kiss, "I'm sure our bed is a lot more comfortable to sleep in than this chair."

"I actually slept pretty good here," she told him, "Besides I wanted to stay here. I only planned on resting my feet for a little while before coming back out."

"Looks like your body had other ideas," Jess said, placing a hand on her stomach, "Richie been giving you a hard time today?"

"No, he's been pretty calm today, actually," she said, laying her hand on top of Jess', "He was kicking like crazy when I had that smoothie you sent Mom to get and then he settled down as you began your speech."

"He probably thought it was time for bed," Jess said.

"Probably, since the only thing to calm him down at night is when you read to him," Rory said, "Maybe that's why I fell asleep so easily, he was nice and calm so it relaxed me."

"Are you ready to come back now or do you want to rest some more?" Jess asked.

"Now, I'm hungry. I could really go for a BBQ burger and sweet potato fries from Waverly Diner," Rory said, her eyes going wide as she thought about it.

"Okay, I'll take care of it," Jess said, "Do you want the carrot cake, too?"

"No, I want to get a shake later so I'll skip a dessert for now," she told him.

* * *

"You know our anniversary is coming up," Jess said as he and Rory lay in bed that night, her head on his chest as he ran his fingers up and down her back.

"Yeah, ten days away," Rory said, "I can't believe we've been married for almost two years already."

"I know. Yesterday we were still kids it seems; meeting for the first time. And now we're about to have one of our own," he said.

"It's on a Tuesday this year so can we really do anything?" Rory asked.

"I talked to April about it and she said she would be able to close up the store for me so we can go out to dinner that night," Jess told her.

"She'll be ready for that?" Rory asked, "The store just opened today."

"I've gone over everything with her before and I'm going to have her come in a couple of nights between now and then," he said, "But, April's smart. I'm sure she can handle it."

"She can always call you if she needs to," Rory said, moving their blanket to cover her more, kissing his chest as she closed her eyes, "I love you, Jess."

"I love you, too, Rory," he said, kissing the top of her head, "Good night Book Tease."

"Night, Dodger," she mumbled.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN:** This one's a little on the shorter side, but I'm sure you'll like the way it ends! Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 16: "He kicked my bladder again."

* * *

"Hey, Paris. To what do we owe this pleasure?" Jess asked as he came into the apartment and saw her and Rory at the dining room table with list and charts spread out amongst an array of takeout containers.

"What are you doing home so early?" Rory asked, "The store doesn't close until nine. It's only four."

"It was a little slow today and April said they would be fine without me," Jess said, coming up behind Rory to kiss her cheek. He reached his arms around her to hug her from behind, touching a finger to the necklace she had been wearing everyday since their anniversary three weeks ago. He had bought her a white gold, heart shaped, infinity necklace fitted with diamonds as well as their birthstones. There was an emerald for the month they were married, an opal for Rory's October birthday, and rubies for Jess and Richie's birth month, July.

"She's really taken a liking to working at the store," Rory said, laying her hands over Jess' as they now resided on her nearly thirty-five week bump, "I just hope it's not interfering with her school work."

"It's not, trust me," Jess said, taking a seat next to Rory so he could place her feet in his lap, "I told her when I first talked to her about helping out that she was not to work more than she could handle. School comes first."

"Never thought I'd hear those words from a guy who dropped out of high school," Paris said.

"Paris!" Rory warned.

"Though, I guess you did get your GED and you've written a few books, so you're not entirely dense," Paris said.

"Thanks, Paris, I think," Jess said, "So, again, my earlier question, what are you doing here? What is all this?"

"We're working the seating arrangements and final plans for the reunion in three weeks," Rory told him.

"Right, your Chilton reunion. It's been ten years," Jess said, "I thought the class president usually planned the class reunion?"

"Please, like I'd leave Francine Jarvis to plan our reunion. No way," Paris said, "I want our reunion to classy and well organized, something Francie wouldn't be able to plan if she hired someone to do all the work for her."

"Bad experience with this Francie chick?" Jess whispered into Rory's ear.

"Oh, yeah. I'll fill you in later," Rory told him, "Paris are we about done here, I'm exhausted."

"The seating chart is done and we've got all the floral arrangements and linens planned out. I just have to get them ordered," Paris told her, "Then at the shower next week, we can confirm the menu with Sookie."

"Sookie's catering? I'm actually looking forward to this party, now," Jess said.

"I can't wait. The baby shower next week and then the reunion two weeks later," Rory said, rubbing her stomach, "I can't wait to get my fill of Sookie's delicious food."

* * *

A week later Rory and Jess were on their way to Hartford for a Friday Night Dinner. Since moving to New York they've been to Emily's for dinner a lot more than when they lived in Philadelphia. Emily had even come up to New York a couple of times and had dinner with them. With Rory's baby shower on Sunday, they decided to get together for a Friday Night Dinner.

"Oh, Rory, don't you look lovely," Emily said as Rory and Jess walked into the foyer.

"Thanks, Grandma. Dinner smells great," Rory said.

"It's just a simple roast, but with some sweet potatoes instead of just the traditional ones," Emily said.

"Oh, yum, I can't wait," Rory said, her eyes going wide, "I'm guessing someone told you Richie's been really liking sweet potatoes."

"It's not just Richie. Rory's been obsessed with sweet potato fries for a long time," Jess said, placing his hand on Rory's back as they walked into the living room, "Richie's just adding to it by getting her to eat sweet potato in all forms."

"What do you have left now, Rory, five weeks?" Emily asked.

"Four," Rory told her.

"And you're feeling alright?" Emily asked.

"I feel great, Grandma," Rory said, "Except for the swollen ankles, I've been feeling pretty good."

"She began nesting this week," Jess said, "She's folded and refolded every bit of clothing we have for Richie three times."

"Wow, adding the stuff from the baby shower is going to be fun," Lorelai said, walking into the living room, catching the end of their conversation.

"Rory!" Hunter called, running in ahead of Luke.

"No need to run baby brother, I'm not going anywhere," Rory said, adjusting him on her lap when Jess picked him up.

"Baby," Hunter said, laying his hand on Rory's stomach as Richie gave a kick, "Baby move."

"That's right, little man," Jess said, "Your little nephew Richie is saying hello."

"Hi, Richie," Hunter said, leaning his head down to kiss Rory's stomach.

"That little kick was also saying it's time for Mommy to go to the bathroom," Rory said, "He kicked my bladder again."

"Alright, time to get up little man," Jess said, placing Hunter in the seat next to him, getting up to help Rory to her feet.

"Thank you," Rory said, "I'll just be a minute."

* * *

"Morning, Book Tease. Did you sleep okay?" Jess asked, running his nose along Rory's cheek and neck as she woke up the morning of her baby shower.

"Eventually. Normally the beds here are comfortable, but I just couldn't find a good position last night," Rory said. To make it easier on Rory so she didn't have to go too far to get to the shower, they stayed at the inn, "It may still be uncomfortable at times, but I'm used to our bed."

"Makes sense," Jess said, kissing her cheek, followed by her nose and mouth as he rubbed circles into her back.

"That feels so good," Rory said, running her hand up and down her stomach, "Ow."

"What? Was that a contraction?" Jess asked.

"No, just Braxton Hicks," Rory said, "I've had a few the last couple of days. It's part of what made it hard to sleep last night."

"You should have woke me up," Jess said.

"I figured one of us should get some sleep before the party," Rory said.

"Well, it's not for a few more hours if you want to try to sleep some more," he told her, "I can get you some breakfast and run you a bath. Then I'll lay with you while you try to get more sleep."

"French toast?" Rory asked.

"I'm on it," Jess said, kissing her lips and then her stomach before getting off the bed to go down to the kitchen.

* * *

A couple hours later, everyone was gathered under the tent behind the inn. In between serving themselves food, the guests were taking turns at the onesie decorating table Lane had set up like the one Rory had put together for her shower.

"You have zero artistic ability, Matt," Chris said, looking at his stick figure drawing of a dog on the onesie in front of him.

"Like yours is any better, Chris," Lacey told her boyfriend, looking over his shoulder at his onesie.

"Are those flowers, Chris?" Matt asked, leaning over to look at his onesie.

"It's what I could draw," Chris said, "They're a little sloppy, but you can tell what they are."

"It's the thought that counts," Kara said, laying her onesie to the side to allow the paint to dry.

"Easy for you to say," Lacey said, "You can draw. The rest of us, not so much."

"At least we bought them some, too so they don't actually have to use any of these," Matt said.

* * *

"How are you feeling kid?" Lorelai asked, taking a seat next to Rory while Jess went to refill her plate and get her another glass of water.

"I'm good, Mom. This party is amazing and Sookie's food is as incredible as always," Rory told her, rubbing her stomach.

"Really, because I couldn't help but notice that you've been holding your stomach a bit more than usual and Jess has been even more glued to your side than normal," Lorelai said, "Are you in labor, kid?"

"No, I'm fine, Mom, I promise. I've had a bit of Braxton Hicks the last few days," Rory told her, "But, that's it. It's uncomfortable, but I'm fine."

"You're sure?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm sure. I'd let you know if I wasn't," Rory told her.

"Okay, kid. I trust you," Lorelai said, getting up now that Jess had returned, "You keep an eye on my kid, Jess."

"Always," he told her, handing Rory her plate of food as he pulled her feet into his lap to rub her ankles.

As the afternoon went on, Rory and Jess mingled with their guests, checked out the onesies everyone had made, and opened their gifts. Since they already had all the furniture they needed for Richie their gifts consisted of mainly clothes, diapers, and a few toys. They also received lots and lots of books of varying age range to fill the nursery with.

* * *

"Okay, Rory. Everything looks good. Richie has a nice strong heartbeat. He's measuring just shy of six pounds, good size," Doctor Adams, Rory's doctor since they moved to New York, said, "You said you've had some Braxton Hicks contractions?"

"Some. A few days here and there over the last couple of weeks," Rory said. She was now thirty-seven weeks. The Chilton reunion was five days away, "Have I dilated any yet?"

"Yes, you've dilated two centimeters so far," Doctor Adams said.

"Is that normal?" Jess asked.

"Perfectly normal," Doctor Adams said, "As we get closer to the end of the pregnancy, Rory will be dilating more each week until labor begins."

"And it's okay for her to be on her feet and dancing and everything at the reunion on Saturday?" Jess asked.

"It's fine. Just remember your limits, Rory. Pay attention to your body. You'll know what you can handle," Doctor Adams said, "The more you're on your feet, the more you'll dilate so just remember to take breaks if you need them."

"I'll do that," Rory told her.

"Okay. I'll let you get dressed and I'll see you next week," Doctor Adams said, "And you have my number if you need me before then."

"Thanks Doctor Adams," Rory said as Jess helped her sit up so he could help her off the examination table.

* * *

"Hey, Rory, are you ready to go?" Jess asked as he set their suitcase by the door. They were getting ready to leave for Connecticut so they would be in town for Rory's ten year Chilton reunion the next day, "Ror, come on, I thought you were...Rory? Are you alright?"

"Fine. Just fine," Rory told him, her hand on her stomach, her breathing quickening, "I think we're going to have to change one of those rubies in my necklace, Jess."

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Because, I'm pretty sure my water just broke," Rory said, taking his hand in hers, giving it a squeeze as a contraction hit.

"You're sure?" Jess asked.

"Positive, Jess. This is it," Rory told him, "Our son is about to be born."


	17. Chapter 17

**AN:** Who's ready for a Mariano baby!? If I made any errors in my description of labor and delivery, I apologize. I have no children and the only experience I have of being around someone when they were in labor was when my mom had my brother when I was seven. I don't remember much except being completely grossed out when they broke her water since it hadn't happened naturally. I did a lot of research. I wrote this chapter with several different tabs open with information about labor and delivery so I hope I did it well. Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. It was the most I'd had in awhile and it brought a smile to my face with each new e-mail notification. Thank you so much. Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 17: "Welcome to the world Richard Holden Mariano!"

* * *

While Rory got into the shower to clean herself off and change into a new outfit, Jess grabbed the bag that Rory had kept prepared from the day they moved into their New York apartment and placed it by the door so he could grab it when they walked out. While cleaning up the floor in their bedroom from where Rory's water broke, he called Lorelai so she and Luke could come into the city if they wanted, but also told her he would call once they got to the hospital and knew how far along Rory was.

"Okay, I'm ready," Rory said, coming out of their bedroom, a smile on her face as she thought of what was to come.

"I've got your bag and called Lorelai. She said they were going to start making there way here, but would probably hold off on coming to the hospital right away," Jess said.

"They can always stay here until it's closer to time. Or Luke and Hunter at least. I doubt Luke wants to be there the whole..." Rory said, taking Jess' hand as another contraction hit, "That's two."

"You didn't have one while you were in the shower?" Jess asked, looking at his watch to note the time.

"No and the one right after my water broke was the first real one," Rory told him.

"Okay, so that was twenty minutes ago," Jess said.

"Yeah, so we don't need to go to the hospital yet. Not until they are closer together," Rory said.

"Do you want to wait until the next one? See how close it comes before going?" Jess asked.

"Yeah. Let's sit down for a bit and when the next one hits you can work on getting a cab," Rory said.

"Okay. Let's have a seat on the couch and you just try and relax," Jess said, "Do you want anything? A drink? Are you hungry?"

"I'm good, Jess," Rory said, leaning against the side of the couch and placing her feet in Jess' lap as she rubbed her stomach, "I need to call Paris."

"I can do it if you want," Jess told her.

"No, I'm good to call. You may want to call April and the guys though," Rory said, "April was okay to be at the store tonight and tomorrow, but if you're planning on staying home with us for awhile, you may need to have one of the guys come up to help out."

"You're right. I'll leave you to give Paris a call and see if Matt or Chris can come up for a little while," Jess said.

* * *

Just like Paris, when Rory called her to let her know she was in labor and would not be making it to the reunion, Rory was a little disappointed. She had been looking forward to seeing a few of her old classmates and seeing everything she and had Paris had planned come to life. But, she was also extremely excited to meet her son. Talking to Paris also helped to alleviate the slight panic she felt when she realized she was in labor since she was two weeks early.

"Okay, so April said she's good for the weekend and said she could come by the hospital after she closes tonight if we're up for visitors," Jess said, "Chris is going to come up and help out this week. Plus, he and Matt said April can call them anytime if she needs anything."

"That's good. I called Paris. She's a little disappointed we won't be at the reunion, but she's excited to see Richie," Rory told him, "She also helped the nerves I was feeling."

"What are you nervous about?" Jess asked.

"He's two weeks early," Rory told him, "Logically I knew it was okay, but I guess hearing from someone who actually knows a thing or two about medicine that it's okay for him to be two weeks early; that it is in fact normal, made it better."

"I could have told you that. It's in all those books we bought," he told her.

"I know and like I said, I knew in my head it was okay, that nothing is going to be wrong with Richie because he's coming two weeks before his due date," Rory said, "But…"

"Your heart was feeling something different," Jess said.

"Yeah. Is that silly?" Rory asked.

"No, that's just you being a Mom, worrying about our son before he's even entered the world," Jess said.

"How long has it been since my last contraction?" Rory asked him.

"Fifteen minutes," Jess said, looking at his watch.

"So, five more minutes before the next…" Rory began, stopping when she felt the now familiar tightening in her stomach, squeezing Jess' hand as she took several deep breaths.

"Okay, that was only fifteen minutes since the last one," Jess said.

"And it was longer this time, too," Rory said.

"Do you want me to go get a cab?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure it will still be awhile, but with New York traffic I'd rather be on the way or already there before they get too close together," Rory said.

* * *

Half an hour and two more contractions later, Jess was helping Rory out of the cab outside of Columbia University Medical Center. Her contractions were a bit stronger and were now coming twelve minutes apart. Once they were checked in and settled into a room, Jess called Lorelai back to give her an update. It had been just over an hour since he called her.

"Hey, how is she doing?" Lorelai asked.

"Good, we just got into a room so now we're waiting on the doctor to come see her," Jess said, "But for right now her contractions are twelve minutes apart so it may still be awhile, but it only took an hour for it to jump from twenty minutes to twelve."

"Well, we are just passing through Stamford so it should only be another forty-five minutes to an hour," Lorelai told him.

"Okay, are you coming straight here?" Jess asked.

"I'm going to have Luke drop me off and then go back to your apartment with Hunter. It may be late when the baby gets here and I don't want him to be trying to stay up to see him," Lorelai said.

"Plus, Luke is not a fan of hospitals at all," Jess said.

"No, he is not," Lorelai said.

"Jess!" Rory yelled, another contraction hitting her.

"I'll let you get to Rory. I'll see you soon," Lorelai said, "Take care of my baby and yours."

"I will. Bye, Lorelai," Jess said, ending the call and moving to Rory's side so she could take his hand, "Alright, just breathe through it Ror. You've got this."

* * *

An hour later, Lorelai had joined them and Emily was on her way, wanting to be in the city when her first great-grandchild was born. Doctor Adams had been in to see Rory just before Lorelai arrived. Rory's contractions were now ten minutes apart and had stayed that way for the last half hour and she was now dilated five centimeters.

"So, you've been in labor for what, two hours now?" Lorelai asked.

"Officially. At least that's when my water broke," Rory told her, "I'm pretty sure now that I was in labor for a few hours before that."

"You didn't say anything," Jess said.

"They weren't all that frequent and they didn't feel much different than the Braxton Hicks I was feeling before so I didn't think anything of it," Rory said, "At least not until my water broke."

"So what are you thinking then, four hours, five?" Lorelai asked.

"More like seven or eight," Rory said.

"Eight?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, I felt a little something after eating the kung pao chicken I ordered for lunch, but I figured it was just bad heartburn in combination with the Braxton Hicks," Rory said, taking a deep breath and squeezing tight to Jess' hand as she felt another contraction coming.

"Breathe through it, Ror. In and out," Jess said, running his other hand over her forehead to keep her hair out of her eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want something for the pain, kid?" Lorelai asked once the contraction stopped.

"No, I can handle it," Rory told her, taking hold of Jess' other hand while he stretched his fingers on his other hand, "As long as you can handle it, Jess."

"I'm good. Squeeze my hand as much as you want, Book Tease," Jess said, leaning forward to kiss her forehead, "If you need to break a few fingers, I can take it."

"I'm hoping it doesn't come to that," Rory said with a laugh, "But, you never know. I could be stronger than I thought."

* * *

When nine o'clock came, Rory had finally had enough and asked for something to help with the pain. She was tired and wanted to be able to sleep so she asked for something to help ease the pain so she could rest for awhile. She had also grown tired of Emily regaling them with the story of Lorelai's birth and how she did it without an epidural because at the time women just did these things naturally.

"I think that's our cue to head out and let these two get some rest," Lorelai said, seeing Rory's eyes close shortly after the pain medicine was administered.

"I'm sure we could just stay in the waiting room, Lorelai," Emily said, "No one is going to kick us out of the hospital."

"It's still going to be awhile Emily so while Rory rests, you should do the same," Jess said, "The guest room is all set up so Luke and Lorelai can take that room with Hunter and you can stay in our room. I promise I'll call the second Rory gets close."

"Yeah, Mom. Let's let them be and get some rest. We can come back in the morning," Lorelai said, "Rory's not going anywhere."

"Well, I suppose you're right," Emily said, "You'll call the second Rory is close to delivering?"

"I promise. You won't miss Richie's entrance into the world," Jess told her.

"Alright then. Let's go Lorelai," Emily said, giving Jess a hug and kissing Rory's cheek.

After Emily and Lorelai left, Jess and Rory were both able to sleep for a few hours before the contractions picked up in intensity as the medication began to wear off. Rory woke up around midnight, reaching out for Jess as a contraction started.

"Okay, Rory, if you're feeling up to it, I would suggest the two of you go for a short walk," Doctor Adams said as she removed her gloves after checking to see how far along Rory was.

"Why? Is everything alright?" Rory asked.

"You've been in labor for something like twelve hours now and you've been here for six of those and you've only dilated to six," Doctor Adams said.

"Six? I was at five several hours ago," Rory said.

"Is it normal for progress to slow down like that?" Jess asked.

"Yes and no. Everyone is different," Doctor Adams said, "You're not in too much pain and the baby isn't in any distress so it's fine to let the labor continue to proceed naturally, but I'd like you to take a walk to see if you progress any."

"How long?" Rory asked.

"However long you can handle it," she said, "I'll be back to check on you in another hour."

"Okay, thanks, Doctor Adams," Rory said.

* * *

"Do you need to stop?" Jess asked as he and Rory made their third lap around the maternity ward.

"No, I'm good," Rory said, "I wouldn't mind stopping at the nursery for a bit on our next lap, though. It would be nice to look in on all the new babies Richie will be rooming with."

"Sure, we can do that," Jess said, keeping his arm tight around her waist as they continued to walk. He wanted to keep a tight hold on her in case a contraction became too much for her and she had a hard time standing on her own.

After nearly half an hour of walking and having to stop once when the contraction she was having became too much, Rory was ready to get back to her room and in bed.

"Jess, will you read to me?" Rory asked when once she was back in her room and hooked up to all her monitors.

"I didn't bring a book with me," he told her.

"My bag," Rory told him.

" _A Farewell to Arms_?" Jess questioned, removing the Hemingway novel from her bag.

"I figured it would be best to pick something that bores me so I could rest," Rory said.

"Funny. Did you pack anything else?" Jess asked, looking through the bag, "Ah hah, _Catcher in the Rye_."

"I was saving that one for once Richie was here," Rory told him, "It's one of Grandpa's copies."

"So it is," Jess said, opening the book, glancing at the neat scrawl along a few of the pages, "He wrote in the margins."

"Yeah, I never knew it until I took that book home," Rory told him, "I've found a few more books in his study with his notes in them."

"Wow, it's like having a conversation with him," Jess said, reading a few of Richard's thoughts on Holden Caulfield.

"I'd like to take some time going through all the books in his study and see if we can find all the one's he wrote in," Rory said, "I'd like to have those with us."

"Sure. When we're comfortable enough to either leave Richie with someone for a few hours or take him with us, we'll make a trip to Hartford and go through Richard's books," Jess said, closing the book and putting it back in the bag, "Now, let's get started on the Hemingway."

"Oh, joy," Rory mumbled, closing her eyes as Jess began to read.

* * *

When Doctor Adams came back into the room at one in the morning, Rory had dilated another centimeter. Her contractions were still coming every ten minutes, but they were lasting for longer periods of time and she was now at seven centimeters. Deciding to try and rest a bit more, Rory asked Jess to get into the bed with her so he could massage her back as she tried to sleep to help alleviate some of the pain as the contractions came.

"Ahh, ow, Jess, it hurts!" Rory screamed, holding tight to his right hand as he continued to rub her back with his left, kissing her forehead as he did. She had been able to sleep for forty-five minutes before a sharp contraction ripped through her body.

"Breathe, Ror. Just breathe. It's almost over," Jess whispered into her ear as Rory gripped his hand tighter, "Ouch!"

"Just breathe, Jess. Breathe through the pain," Rory told him, earning her a slight laugh from Jess, "Not so easy is it?"

"No, but you're much stronger than I am. You can handle anything," he told her, kissing her cheek, "You doing so good, Rory. I'm so proud of you."

"Mmm, thank you," Rory said, turning her head to kiss him on the lips, "I love you, Dodger."

"I love you, too, Book Tease," Jess told her as she closed her eyes again.

* * *

The next time Rory woke up, she and Jess were no longer alone in the room. While she slept the doctor had come in and saw Rory was now up to eight centimeters and they could tell from the monitors that her contractions were now five minutes apart.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Lorelai said as Rory opened her eyes.

"When did you get here?" Rory asked with yawn, "Where's…"

"Shh, I think you exhausted him," Lorelai said, directing Rory's attention to the couch along the wall next to her bed where Jess was now sleeping.

"How long was I out?" Rory asked.

"A couple hours I think from what Jess said when he called. You slept through your last check up and quite a few contractions," Lorelai said.

"How quick...ahh!" Rory screamed, taking Lorelai's offered hand as she took deep breaths, "That was a lot longer than I was expecting."

"They're coming every five minutes now," Lorelai told her, rubbing her back.

"Did Grandma come with you?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, she's been in here this whole time just watching you sleep," Lorelai said, sitting back down in the chair next to Rory's bed, "She stepped out to get coffee."

"Mmm, coffee. I can't wait until I can have that again," Rory said, "Though it will still be awhile before I can have the good stuff."

"You're going to try breastfeeding?" Lorelai asked, "You never took to it and Hunter only lasted a few months. I just kept pumping so he'd have the nutrients from it."

"Yeah, I know, but I'm going to try and I'm planning to stick the fake coffee for as long as I breastfeed, even if he's not getting it directly from me," Rory said.

"It's called decaf," Jess said, sitting up on the couch, running his fingers through his hair, "Just because it doesn't have caffeine, doesn't mean it's fake."

"Easy for you to say, you can't tell the difference," Lorelai told him.

"True. How are you feeling?" Jess asked, sitting on the edge of Rory's bed while leaning down to kiss her and rub her stomach.

"Tired. I'm ready for this to be over," Rory told him.

"Oh, good, we're all awake now," Doctor Adams said, coming into the room with Emily following behind.

"Hey, Doctor Adams," Rory said, "Is it time to get this show on the road?"

"Let's take a look," Doctor Adams said, "Well, we're are just about there. You're at nine, Rory. It shouldn't be too much longer now. I'll check on you in half an hour, but if you feel like you're ready to push before that, page a nurse and they'll get me."

"Thanks, Doctor Adams," Rory told her.

"It's almost time," Lorelai said.

"Finally," Rory said, "I can't wait to meet our Richie."

"Me either," Jess said, kissing the top of her head.

* * *

Just before five in the morning, nearly twelve hours after her water broke, Rory was ready to deliver. Once they reached the delivery room, Jess and Lorelai took their spots on either side of Rory to hold her hands and help her through the delivery while took a spot next to Lorelai, near Rory's head. When discussing with Doctor Adams during one of their appointments who would be joining her and Jess in the delivery room, Rory immediately told her they would be joined by both her mother and grandmother. While normal hospital policy only allowed two people in the room with the expectant mother, Doctor Adams was quick to ignore that policy once Rory and Jess explained the importance of their son's name.

"Are you ready to be a Mom, Rory?" Jess asked, brushing her hair out of her face as she held tight to his hand when a contraction hit.

"So, ready," Rory said, exhaustion on her face and tears in her eyes, "I'm ready for him to be here."

"Me, too," Jess told her, kissing her forehead.

"Okay, Mom and Dad. Are we ready to do this?" Doctor Adams asked, getting herself situated at the foot of the bed.

"More than ready," Rory told her.

"Alright, with this next contraction Rory, I need you to push," Doctor Adams told her.

"Okay," Rory said, taking a few deep breaths as she felt the contraction start, squeezing Jess and Lorelai's hands as she began to push, "Ahh, oh it hurts. Mom, you seriously underplayed how bad this hurts."

"Crate of dynamite, kid," Lorelai said, "How much worse could I make it sound?"

"You could have said my vagina would feel like someone just dropped an atomic bomb on it," Rory told her, leaning back on the bed, relaxing for a bit before the next contraction.

"Ouch," Jess said, "That hurts just thinking about it."

"Like you wouldn't believe," Rory told him.

"Okay, Rory, the head is crowning. Give me a big push and the head will be out," Doctor Adams said.

Once the head was out, Doctor Adams cleaned Richie's mouth and nose, instructing Rory to give one more big push to deliver him the rest of the way.

"Congratulations, Rory, you have a beautiful, healthy baby boy," Doctor Adams said, holding him up for them to see as he let out his first cries, "Mrs. Gilmore will you do the honors?"

"Me, you want me to…" Emily questioned as a nurse held out the scissors for Emily to cut the umbilical cord, "Are you sure?"

"We're sure, Grandma. Jess and I talked about it. We want you to do it," Rory told her, trying to keep her eyes open so she wouldn't miss anything from Richie's first minutes.

After the umbilical cord was cut, Doctor Sanders handed Richie off to a nurse to get him cleaned up before handing him back to Rory, who already had the top of her gown open to give him some skin on skin contact and make an attempt at breastfeeding. As he quickly latched on they all stood by watching as the newest member of the family, born on June the twenty-ninth of the year two thousand and thirteen at twelve minutes after five in the morning, looked up at his mother with wide, open eyes.

"Welcome to the world Richard Holden Mariano!" Rory whispered, kissing his forehead as she inhaled his new baby scent.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN:** Hey, guys! So glad you liked the birth of Richard Holden Mariano! It makes me happy to see the effort I put into making it as real as possible get a good response. Now onto some fluffy, family time with the Mariano's! Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 18: "Watching you and him right now is the most beautiful thing in the world."

* * *

 _London calling, yes, I was there, too_

 _An' you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!_

 _London calling at the top of the dial_

 _After all this, won't you give me a smile?_

"Well, I'm glad to see you don't mind my singing voice," Jess said as he held his now eight hour old son in his arms. Richie had his eyes open wide, looking up at Jess as he held him against his bare chest, "Your mother would probably disagree, though."

"I wouldn't say your voice is that bad," Rory said, rolling over to reveal her wakefulness. She had been awake for a few minutes, but was enjoying listening to Jess talk to their son. It had been one of her favorite things throughout her pregnancy when Jess would talk to Richie through her stomach, especially when he thought she was sleeping, "Was I dreaming or were you really sing a Clash song to our son?"

"We gotta get him started with the good stuff," Jess said.

"He's not even half a day old," Rory said, moving to try and sit up.

"But, he's been hearing this song for months," Jess reminded her.

"True. I wouldn't be surprised if he had the entire discography memorized before he was two," Rory said, "Why did you take your shirt off?"

"What, you don't like the view?" Jess asked, smirking at her, "You were sleeping and the nurses suggested a little more skin on skin."

"You look great holding him," Rory said, "Fatherhood suits you."

"I love it, too," Jess said, looking down at Richie, "I can't believe he's actually here."

"I know. It almost doesn't seem real. I freaked out for a minute when I first woke up and realized he wasn't inside me anymore," Rory said, "Then I heard you singing. Is anyone still here?"

"I don't think so," Jess said, "Your Mom and Emily went back to our apartment a couple of hours ago. I told them I would call when you woke up and were ready for visitors."

"Have you or Mom called everyone to let him know he was here?" Rory asked.

"I called my parents and April," Jess said, "I sent a text with a picture to the guys."

"Did you tell Kara and Lacey?" Rory asked.

"Yes, I sent them a picture as well and told them I would have you call when you were up to it," he told her, "I called Paris as well so she can let everyone at the reunion know if you want and sent her a picture."

"That's a good idea. I'll call her in a bit and maybe send her a few more pictures if she wants. And maybe Madeline and Louise, too. They're more likely to mingle with people and share his arrival with them," Rory said, "What about everyone else in Stars Hollow?"

"Lorelai called Lane and told her, as well as Sookie," Jess said, "Lane offered to tell Miss Patty."

"Oh, good, at least we don't have to make all those other notifications then. Miss Patty will cover that for us," Rory said, watching as Richie began to squirm in Jess' arms before letting out a cry, "He's probably hungry. It's been a few hours since I fed him."

"Yep. Are you hungry, little man?" Jess asked, standing up with Richie in his arms, handing him over to Rory once she had her gown open for him.

"Thank you," Rory said, moving Richie in her arms to get him set to feed, "You should try and get some sleep."

"I'm okay. I slept for a little bit after you fell asleep, but I couldn't stay asleep," Jess said, "So I stayed up and just watched him."

"I could watch him all day," Rory said, looking down at her son in her arms, his eyes were closed and his hand was formed into a fist.

"Me too," Jess said, "Watching you and him right now is the most beautiful thing in the world."

"Sap," Rory said.

"I know. My reputation is forever ruined now," Jess said.

"Have you eaten anything?" Rory asked, moving Richie to her other breast where he latched on and continued to feed.

"Oh, he was really hungry this time," Jess said, "And no. I wasn't hungry. Lorelai brought me some coffee before she left so I had that."

"You should eat something," Rory told him, "Or at least find something for me because I'm starved and the way Richie is eating, I'm going to need it."

"Do you want to see what the hospital has or do you want me to call Lorelai and have her bring something when she comes?" Jess asked.

"Have Mom bring something, I don't care what," Rory said.

"Okay, I'll go out and call her. Let her know you're up. Are you up to having everyone else here?" Jess said.

"As long as it's just Mom, Luke, Grandma, and Hunter for now, yeah," Rory said, "I think I'd like to hold off on more visitors until tomorrow."

"Sure. I'll let Lorelai know so she can add that to the message for Miss Patty," Jess said, "I already told Liz I would let her know when you were up to seeing people so she didn't just show up."

"Thank you for that," Rory said.

"Do you want me to lay him back down or are you good?" Jess asked, getting up from his chair.

"I'm good. I want to hold him. I'm not ready to put him down yet," Rory said, smiling down at their sleeping son in her arms.

"I'll be back in a minute," he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead and the top of Richie's head, "I love you."

"And we love you," Rory said.

* * *

While Jess went to call Lorelai, Rory picked up her phone from the table next to her bed and began snapping a few pictures of Richie as he slept on her chest. When Jess came back he took a few pictures of the two of them before Rory handed Richie to him so she could take pictures of them.

"I come bearing food," Lorelai said, coming into the room half an hour later.

"Mmm, I smell burgers and bacon," Rory said.

"Yeah, sorry it took so long. Luke decided to make you something himself and though he really wanted to make you a salad, he went with a burger," Lorelai said, "And there are two. One with bacon and one without. I told him we should test it out and see if you can eat it now."

"It smells good so that's a start," Rory said, taking the covered plate from Lorelai, immediately grabbing a few of the sweet potato fries that were on the plate as well, "I'm so glad Luke made these, too. They are so good."

"Jess, why don't you take the other burger and I'll hold Richie," Lorelai said.

"Oh, you'll make that sacrifice?" Jess asked, "You'd hold your grandson just so I could eat?"

"I am a very selfless person," Lorelai said.

"Thank you," Jess said, handing Richie to her and picking up the other plate to take a bite of his burger.

"Did anyone else come with you?" Rory asked.

"Not yet. I came ahead to give you time to eat," Lorelai said, "Luke is bringing your grandmother and Hunter in a little while."

"Sounds good. Thank you for bringing the food," Rory said as she took a bite of her burger, "Oh, man this bacon tastes so good right now."

"That's because you haven't eaten any in seven months," Jess said.

"True," Rory said, "And I'm going to take my time and enjoy it."

* * *

"He is just darling, Rory," Emily said as she held Richie when she came into Rory's room an hour later, "He's the perfect mix of you and Jess."

"Really? Other than the blue eyes, which are likely to change anyway, I think he looks just like Jess," Rory said.

"Oh, trust me, you're in there, too. You see the way he's making his fist and scrunching up nose?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, why?" Rory asked.

"You did the same thing when you were a baby," Emily told her.

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Oh, yes. I remember the first time I held you after you were born," Emily said, "I thought I had never seen anything more precious, until now."

"He is pretty perfect, isn't he," Rory said.

"He's remarkable. Your grandfather would be proud," Emily said.

"I can't wait until Richie is old enough to understand what I'm saying so I can tell him all about Grandpa," Rory said, "I'm going to make sure he knows everything about him and I'm going to show him Grandpa's picture every day."

"That's very sweet of you, Rory. And it was very sweet of you to have me in the delivery room. I can't tell you what that meant to me to be able to be part of this sweet boy's arrival into the world," Emily said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Grandma," Rory said, "Jess and I wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

"Baby," Hunter said, when he walked into the room with Luke and Lorelai after Emily left to get a cup of coffee.

"Hunter, this is Richie," Rory said, holding him closer for Hunter to see when Luke sat him next to her on the bed, "Can you say hi?"

"Hi, Richie. I Hunter," he said, moving to get a better look at him, his face close to Richie's "Smell!"

"Oh, seems like it's time for diaper change," Rory said.

"I got it," Jess said, taking Richie from her.

"You sure?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. I got this," Jess said, laying Richie down so he could change him.

After Richie was changed, Jess gave him back to Rory as Hunter climbed back onto the bed next to Rory.

"Me hold?" Hunter asked.

"Sure, just sit right here close to me," Rory said, handing Richie back to Jess so she could situate herself to help Hunter, placing one arm around him so she would be able to help support Richie in his arms.

"Okay, buddy, you need be really careful," Jess said, "He's really little and needs us to protect him."

"Kay," Hunter said, holding his arms up so he could hold Richie.

"Just like that," Rory said, helping Hunter hold up Richie's head.

"I doing it," Hunter said.

"Can you smile for me so I can take your picture?" Jess asked, holding his phone up to capture the moment.

"Cheese," Hunter said, looking up at Jess.

"Perfect," Jess said, putting his phone away after taking a few more of Hunter looking down at Richie in his arms.

"Richie no like me," Hunter said, as Richie began to cry and move a bit in Hunter's arms.

"It's okay, Hunter. He likes you, he's just hungry," Rory said, taking Richie from Hunter's arms so she could feed him.

"What's he eat?" Hunter asked.

"He eats milk," Rory told him.

"Like a cat?" Hunter asked.

"Sort of. He drinks a special kind of milk that only comes from me," Rory said.

"Oh, okay," Hunter said, hopping down from the bed with Lorelai's help and leaving the room with Luke.

"You handled that very well," Lorelai told her.

"Thanks, I was nervous he would keep asking questions," Rory said as she began to feed Richie.

"Couple more years maybe, but you satisfied him for now," Lorelai said.

* * *

Sunday morning saw a small stream of visitors as April came to see her new cousin and Christopher came with Gigi. Liz came, too along with TJ and Doula to see her grandson. Lane told Rory she would wait until they were home and settled in before coming to see him which Rory appreciated. Once everyone from the reunion discovered why she wasn't there, she received several congratulation text messages and requests from people asking to come meet Richie and see her once she was up to it. Sunday afternoon once Rory and Richie were released, they headed home, ready and excited to begin their lives as a family of three.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: "They're going to grow up the best of friends,"

* * *

Early in the morning, Rory and Jess had woken to Richie's cries. Their son was now nine days old and just like when Rory was pregnant with him, he was up and crying, wanting food and attention at six o'clock every morning. He would get up a couple other times throughout the night, but six o'clock was always an exact time.

"Jess," Rory said, her eyes fluttering open.

"Huh, six already," he said, opening his eyes, looking at the clock on the nightstand before getting out of bed. He had become part of their return since they came home from the hospital that during the night, Jess would get out of bed to get Richie and change his diaper if needed before handing him off to Rory to be fed, "When did you do this?"

"When he woke up a few hours ago. I stayed up while you went back to sleep," Rory said, getting out of bed to stand next to Jess as he picked Richie up from his bassinet. Before going back to sleep, Rory had changed Richie into a t-shirt that read 'Happy Birthday Daddy!'

"This is the best present I could ever ask for," Jess said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Happy birthday, Jess," Rory said, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

* * *

In the week since they'd been home, they had a few visitors. Luke and Lorelai were still at the apartment with Hunter and Emily when they arrived home on Sunday and they stayed until that evening. Throughout the week, April stopped by a few times when she wasn't in class or working at the store. She would stay for a couple of hours keeping an eye on Richie so Jess and Rory could both sleep a little bit, eat, or take a shower. Chris was still in town, staying at a friend's house while he kept an eye on the store for Jess until he went back to work. He checked in from time to time with Chris on the phone and April when she came over, but hadn't yet been back to the store. He was planning to go back to work at the store when Richie was a month old and Rory planned to join him on some days, having Richie stay in the room Jess set up for him while she helped him out with the store.

"April is coming by for a few hours tonight so we can go out," Rory told Jess as they sat down on the floor with Richie for tummy time.

"Is it going to be okay to leave him?" Jess asked.

"He'll be fine. Aprils knows what she is doing and I'll feed and change him before we go," Rory told him, "She'll be okay with him for a little while so I can take you out for your birthday. Besides I was only planning to go a block away to Jacques."

"I guess that will be okay. We'll be close enough to get back here quickly if needed," Jess said, laying down in front of Richie as he lifted his head slightly, looking up at both him and Rory.

"Richie," Rory cooed, running her fingers along the side of his face, "You look at you enjoying your tummy time."

"He really is amazing," Jess said, laying his arm across Rory's back and kissing her cheek.

"He's the best baby in the world," Rory said, reaching to pick up Richie when he started to cry a bit.

"I guess that's enough tummy time for the day," Jess said, holding Richie against his chest when Rory handed him to him so she could fold his blanket back up.

"He last longer than he did yesterday," Rory said.

"And if I remember right, Hunter downright hated it," Jess said.

"I think that was because Paul Anka liked to join him all the time," Rory said, "He would either lick his face or lay on the floor right in front of him and freaked him out."

"He loves Paul Anka now," Jess said.

"He loved him then, too, but I don't think he liked having his face right in front of his," Rory said.

"Yeah, I don't think I would like that either," Jess said, rubbing Richie's back as he fell asleep, "I'm going to go lay him down."

"Okay, I'm going to check in with Mom. She was talking the other day about coming up for the weekend," Rory said.

"That would be okay with me," Jess said.

"She's dying to see her grandson again and Hunter's been talking nonstop about his nephew," Rory said.

"They're going to grow up the best of friends," Jess said.

"I hope so," Rory said.

* * *

That evening Rory and Jess were a little slow to leave the apartment when April arrived. They had been out a few times separately to run an errand and a couple of times with Richie taking him to the doctor for his first checkup after he was born and for walks around the neighborhood, but they had not been out alone without Richie yet.

"Guys, go. Have a good time. Richie will be fine. You can trust me," April said, waiting for Rory to hand him over to her.

"It's not that we don't trust you April," Rory said.

"I know. But, you're only going a block away and you can call or text as often as you want," April said, "I'll even send you a picture of him every twenty minutes if it will make you feel better."

"Make it every fifteen and we're good," Rory said.

"Okay. Every fifteen minutes, I'll take a picture of Richie and send it to you," April said, "Now, go. Enjoy your time together."

"Alright. We'll be back soon, baby boy," Rory said, kissing Richie's forehead before handing him to April, his eyes finding hers, taking her in as he gripped her finger in his hand.

"Have fun, you guys. I'll text you soon," April told them.

"Thanks, April," Jess said, taking Rory's hand and leading her out of their apartment.

* * *

Since it was only a block to Jacques, Rory and Jess decided to walk to the restaurant. As soon as they were seated they let their waiter know they wanted the onion tart since it took twenty minutes to prepare and began to look over the menu to decide what else they wanted.

"Do you want to share anything else?" Jess asked as they looked over their menus.

"No, just the tart, though I'll probably want to try some of whatever you decide to get," Rory said.

"I figured as much. How do you feel about the coq au vin?" Jess asked.

"I wouldn't mind trying a bite or two of that," Rory said, "I'm going to go with the Jacques burger and fries."

"Take the girl out of Stars Hollow and she still picks the burger," Jess said.

"I like a good burger. And you know as good as any burger I had on the road, in Philly, or since we've been in New York, not a one has measured up to Luke's," Rory said.

"You're biased."

"Maybe."

"Definitely."

"Here you are sir, ma'am."

"Thank you," Jess said when their waiter set their drinks down in front of them before writing down their order.

Shortly after giving their order, Rory received her first update from April. She said he had become a bit fussy so she placed him in his rock 'n' play and he was now happily sleeping as it rocked back and forth.

"He looks so peaceful," Jess said when Rory showed him the picture.

"I miss him," Rory said, "I know we're just a block away and we've only been gone twenty minutes, but I miss him."

"I miss him, too, Ror," Jess said, reaching across the table to take her hand, "But, we need to make time for us, too."

"I know. I'm glad April was able to come tonight so we could go out and I love that she's been over so much keeping an eye on Richie so we could rest or eat," Rory said, "But he was part of me for so long. It's weird being away from him."

"I get it, trust me. I'm already dreading going back to work and it's still three weeks away," Jess said, "I've become used to being at home with the two of you."

"And that's why you built the nursery for him so we can go with you," Rory said, "I plan to take full advantage of that."

"Good," Jess said, "And if you get bored helping out at the store you can use my office to do your own work if you want."

"Get bored at a bookstore?" Rory asked, "Not likely."

"True, but the offer is there," Jess said.

"I appreciate it," Rory said.

After they had their fill of the onion tart, coq au vin, burger and fries, they shared the chocolate souffle they ordered when their dinner arrived. Then once the bill was paid they walked back home to relieve April, ready to get back to their son.

* * *

"So, I got you something," Rory said, walking into their bedroom after taking a shower when they got back.

"You took me out to dinner. Plus I have you and Richie, I don't need anything else," Jess told her.

"Too bad. I got you something anyway," Rory said, grabbing a bag from their closet, "Happy birthday, Dodger."

"Thank you, Book Tease," Jess said, kissing her as she handed him the bag, "The Shaggs? Pretty sure I have this or you do. Didn't I loan this to you once?"

"You did," Rory said, joining him on the bed, "I have no idea where it is anymore or if I ever gave it back to you. I found this a few months ago at this old record store when Lane came in to visit. When I saw it was signed as well, I had to get it."

"This is great, Ror. Thank you," Jess said, setting the album down on the nightstand so he could kiss her, gently pushing her down on the bed as he did.

"You better stop before you get yourself too worked up," Rory said, breathless as Jess moved his lips to her neck, "We still have five weeks before we can even think about doing anything more than what we're doing right now."

"I know," he said, stopping to rest his forehead against hers, "Richie will be up in a couple of hours so you should get some sleep. I'm going to go take a shower."

"Again?" Rory asked. He had got in the shower before she did when they came home as Richie was hungry again.

"This one won't be for the purpose of getting clean," he said.

"I told you not to get yourself worked up," she told him.

"It's your fault. You're too sexy sometimes," he said, kissing her quickly before walking towards the bathroom, Rory giggling as he went.

"I love you," she said as he closed the bathroom door.

"I love you, too," he said, opening the door to blow her a kiss before closing it again to take his shower.

* * *

 **AN:** A little shorter than my last couple of chapters, but since they can't do anything real big for Jess' birthday since Richie is still so young, I didn't have too much to include for this. If anyone who has children has any insights they'd like to share, feel free to message me. I'd love any input on anything from when your children were newborns that I could include for Richie. I'm not sure if at just a week and a half old, tummy time is too soon, but I did read a few places that you can start it as soon as you bring your baby home so I threw that in to give them a nice family moment. Happy reading!


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: "Our son's only a month old and you're already planning the next one."

* * *

"Happy one month, Richard Mariano," Rory said, picking him up from his bassinet and moving to the rocking chair in his nursery to feed him, "You did good for your first night in your own room."

Since he was born, they had kept Richie in the bassinet next to their bed as they became accustomed to having him in their lives and got used to his sleeping and waking schedule. With the nursery being attached to their room by a sliding door, Rory and Jess felt comfortable giving a try to having Richie sleep in his own room for a night. This way Rory and Jess still had their own space, but by leaving the sliding door open, Richie was still essentially in the same room with them, just a little further away.

"How's our one month old boy, today?" Jess asked, coming into the nursery with a cup of coffee for himself and a tea for Rory, taking a seat on the floor at her feet in front of the rocking chair.

As much as she wanted coffee, Rory was sticking with abstaining from it except for a small about a couple times a week. She didn't want Richie to get any caffeine and she actually taken a liking to the herbal tea Jess made for her. She had drank it from time to time during her pregnancy when her nausea was bothering her.

"Thank you," Rory said, taking a sip of the tea Jess handed her before giving the cup back to him so she could focus on feeding Richie, "He's good. It was weird not having right next to us last night, but I with him still being so close and keeping the door open, he didn't really notice he was farther away from us."

"You did though. I heard you tossing and turning all night," Jess said, running his hand down her leg to relax as she tensed at his words, "We can keep him in our room longer if you're not ready."

"I don't think I'll ever be ready," Rory said, looking down at their baby boy in her arms, "He's already grown so much in the just this past month. Having him sleep in here is just something I'm going to have to get used to."

"Okay, but just know the option is there," Jess told her, "There is no right time for this. The doctor said it would be fine for him to sleep in his own room as early as we were ready for it. Having him in our room is more as a convenience so you don't have to go far when you feed him. We have the monitor and you tend to wake up before he makes a noise anyway."

"I know. The doctor also said some parents keep their kid in their room their entire first year," Rory said.

"Like that wouldn't scar a kid if the parents decided to have sex with them in the room," Jess said.

"I'm sure those parents move the baby out of the room for that," Rory said, "Not that the baby would notice, it's a baby."

"Well, we are most definitely not having sex with Richie or any future children we may have in the room, ever," Jess said, "That's just weird."

"Future children, huh?" Rory asked, "Our son's only a month old and you're already planning the next one."

"Well, yeah. We need our little girl who looks like you," Jess told her, "Our own little book tease chasing after her mini hoodlum older brother."

* * *

"You're going back to work soon," Rory said as she and Jess were eating dinner, "Are you ready for that?"

"The end of the week. Saturday is my first day back," Jess said, "I'm sort of looking forward to it. For the first time in my life I actually really, truly enjoy my day to day job working at the store. I like being my own boss and providing the kids in my old neighborhood with a safe place to spend their time."

"So you've missed being there this past month," Rory said.

"In a way. I have a few regulars that it will be nice to see again," Jess said, "But, I wouldn't give up this past month with you and Richie for anything."

"Thank you," Rory said.

"April's done a good job though. I'm going to miss having her around so much when she goes back to school in the fall. We got lucky that she only took one class this summer," Jess said, "It's been really great having her there so Matt and Chris didn't have to be away from Philly too much. It's almost a shame she doesn't want to do it for a living."

"No offense to you or Matt and Chris, but running a bookstore would be a terrible waste of April's abilities," Rory said.

"I know. That girl's a damn genius. She's going to do great things in this world," Jess said.

"Jess!" Rory said.

"What?" he asked.

"Did you not notice the word you used?" she asked.

"Rory, Richie is asleep two rooms away, I can swear all I want," Jess said, "Hell, I could swear all I went when he's awake. He doesn't know what I'm saying so I have no idea why you decided to implement this swear jar thing."

"Because, if you're not careful, swearing can be a nasty habit that when Richie's older he'll easily pick up on. It's best we start now so he never has to learn them," Rory said.

"We live in New York City, he'd be a millionaire overnight if every person we passed on the street during our weekly walk donated to the swear jar," Jess said, "He's going to hear those words, if not worst eventually. There's no avoiding it."

"While I can't help what Richie hears when we're walking down the street or through the park or what he'll hear when he's older and in school, I can help what he hears in our home and don't want those words used here," Rory said, getting up from her seat to grab the glass jar she had picked up a couple of weeks before when she decided to make the swear jar. So far Jess had added a few dollars as well as Luke and a couple from Lorelai during their last visit.

"Fine. I still think it's insane, but I'll try to be better," Jess said, dropping two dollars into the jar.

"Thank you," she said, taking the jar back and placing on the shelf where she kept it, "Just be glad I'm only charging a dollar. I've seen online that some people charge more depending on the word or even more just as is. I saw one post from someone saying they charge twenty bucks for each word."

"That's a little steep," Jess said, "I'm glad you went with a dollar and when he's older I'm sure Richie will appreciate the money you've collected for him."

* * *

"Rory?" Jess called, walking into the kitchen when he walk up to both an empty bed and an empty nursery.

"Morning," Rory said, giving him a kiss as she handed him a cup of coffee.

"What is all this?" Jess asked.

"We wanted to make you breakfast before your first day back at work," Rory said.

"We?" Jess asked, "What exactly is it that Richie is helping you with?"

"He's supervising," Rory said. While she worked on preparing pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs, Richie was watching in fascination as he laid in his bouncer that Rory had set in the middle of the island in their kitchen so he could watch.

"Are you helping Mommy prepare breakfast for Daddy?" Jess asked, walking over to Richie, taking hold of his hands, Richie immediately grasping Jess' fingers in his little hands, "It looks and smells amazing. You and Mommy did a good job."

While Jess continued to talk to Richie, Rory plated their breakfast. As he kicked his legs and played with Jess' hands, Richie grunted and cooed, his eyes never leaving Jess' face as he spoke to him, encouraging his little noises.

"Rory?" Jess said, his eyes on Richie as he called to her.

"Yeah?" Rory asked, coming back into the kitchen after setting their plates down on their dining room table.

"He smiled. I swear he smiled," Jess said.

"It was probably just gas or a reflex," Rory said.

"No, I've seen those. This was different. I was talking to him and he smiled," Jess said, "It was only for second and it wasn't a full on smile, but it was there, I'm sure of it."

"Well if you're sure," Rory said, moving to take Jess' place in front of Richie, giving him a smile of her own, "What do you say, baby boy. Can you smile for Mommy?"

Looking up at her for a several seconds, cooing and gurgling a bit as Rory talked to him, encouraging him to smile, Richie finally gave in, his whole face lighting up as he delighted his parents with his first full smile.

"Oh, Jess, he did it," Rory said, tearing up as Jess placed an arm around her, "Our baby boy smiled."

"It's amazing. I'm so glad I didn't miss it," Jess said as he placed his phone back in his pocket, "And I got a picture so you can show it to Lorelai and everyone."

"Awesome," Rory said, "Now, let's eat before the food gets cold."

* * *

"Alright, Richie, you be good for Mommy. Daddy has to get to work," Jess said, holding Richie in his arms, kissing his forehead before handing him off to Rory.

Even though April and the guys had kept Jess up to date on everything going on in the store and he and Rory had visited a few times in the past month, they expected his first day back to be pretty busy so Rory and Richie were staying home for the day. After catching up on some laundry, Rory planned to take Richie for a walk in the park before meeting up with Madeline and Louise at their store, Grant and Lynn.

"Alright. I'll see you later. Call me when you go out," Jess said, giving Rory a hug and kissing her cheek.

"I will. Have a good day," she told him, "Okay, Richie, it's just you and me today. Whatever shall we do first, hmm? I think you're right. Let's have a little tummy time before we start the rest of our plans for the day."

After fifteen minutes on the floor with Richie, watching him observe himself from time to time in the mirror she placed in front of him, Rory picked him up for a feeding; laying him down in his bassinet after so she could get a load of laundry done and plan what she was going to make for her and Jess for dinner.

* * *

A few hours later, Rory and Richie had finished their walk through the park and were now walking into Grant and Lynn.

"Oh, look at him. He's gotten so big," Louise said, approaching them as Rory walked in pushing his stroller.

"Louise, you saw him four nights ago when you and Logan came over for dinner," Rory reminded her, "He hasn't grown that much."

"Well, it seems like it," Louise said, "Hey, I made a bunch of new things for him. You have got to see them."

"I'd love to, but he actually needs to be fed so do you have somewhere I could take him?" Rory asked.

"You could stay out here," Madeline said, joining them and giving Rory a hug, "It doesn't bother us."

"I know, but I don't want to bother any of your customers," Rory said, looking around the store at the couple of people browsing the racks of Louise's clothes and the women in the middle of getting their hair and nails done.

"Oh, honey, you don't have to worry a bit about us," one customer told her, "Believe me, we've all been there. You do what you're comfortable with.

"Thanks. I do have a blanket to cover him so anyone walking by wouldn't see anything, but in this heat it would be too much so I'd prefer to feed him in private," Rory said.

"Alright. If you're sure. You can use the office in the back," Louise said.

"I'll show you," Madeline said, "I have to get something from in there anyway."

"Thanks. I won't be long," Rory said.

* * *

"Louise, these are all so adorable," Rory said, looking through the stack of clothes Louis had set in front of her. Since his birth, Louise had been presenting Rory with various outfits for Richie. She had been several different styles of pants and shorts and tops with different phrases, band names, and quotes from Rory and Jess' favorite books.

"Oh, I saved the best for last," Louise said, "Do you mind if I put it on him to show you?"

"Knock yourself out," Rory told her, "I'm going to do a little browsing."

"Great. Be back in just a minute," Louise said, picking Richie up from his stroller and going to the back to change him into her new outfit for him.

"Louise has requested that you close your eyes," Madeline said a few minutes later.

"Fine. They're closed. Come on out, Louise," Rory said.

"Okay, open," Louise said, standing in front of Rory with Richie in her arms.

"Oh, Louise. It's...I want to say adorable, because it is, but, oh to hell with it. I'll throw two bucks in the swear jar when I get home," Rory said, "Richie looks so bad-ass right now."

"You like it?" Louise asked.

"I love it. It's perfect," Rory said, taking Richie from her, "What do you think, baby boy?"

"You think Jess will like it, too?" Louise asked.

"He is going to love it," Rory said, "We're going to have to dig out his old leather jacket so we can take a matching father/son photo."

"Oh, I've already got you covered," Louise said, going to the back and coming out with a bag, "You've got the jeans, shirt, and jacket to match all in Jess' size."

"This is great, Louise. Thank you," Rory said, looking down at the mini hoodlum in her arms, "I just wish he wasn't going to grow out of it so fast."

"I've already got plans started to make a jacket in every age range," Louise said, "This one should fit him until he is three months and I'll have the next one done before he outgrows it."

"Louise, you do too much for me," Rory said.

"I enjoy it," Louise said, "And after doing all this for Richie, I've been thinking about adding a kids line to my collection. A lot of the couture brands have baby clothes, but like everything else they are really expensive. I'm thinking of making mine affordable to everyone. Maybe have some things for the high end baby and some for the baby on a budget."

"That's a great idea, Louise," Rory told her, "Add things like this to your collection and Richie and I will be your first customers."

* * *

That evening when Jess got home, Rory instructed him to change into the clothes she had laid out on their bed. She changed Richie out of his before they left Grant and Lynn, but while Jess was changing into his, she put Richie's back on.

"Not that I don't love this jacket and the jeans are the most comfortable I've ever worn," Jess said as he walked towards the living room, "But, why did Louise make clothes for me?"

"Stop right there and close your eyes," Rory said.

"Okay," Jess said, closing his eyes and placing a hand over them.

"Alright, now take two steps forward and turn to your right," Rory instructed him so he was standing directly in front of their dining room table where Rory had set Richie inside his bouncer so Jess could get the best view of him in his new outfit, "Now open your eyes."

"Oh, wow! This is...He looks totally bad-ass right now," Jess said as Rory giggled, "What?"

"I sort of said the same thing back at the store," Rory said, "I know, I know. I already put money in the swear jar and I added in a dollar for you since I figured you would say the same thing."

"Well, it's really the best way to describe it. Saying he looks adorable just seems odd," Jess said.

"He does look adorable, though," Rory said.

"You send a picture to your mom, yet?" Jess asked, taking his phone out to take a picture of Richie.

"No, I was waiting for you to see it first," Rory said, "Plus I wanted to get a picture of the two of you together to send to her."

"Let's do it," Jess said, taking Richie out of his bouncer, holding him out in front him for Rory to take their picture.

"That's great. Mom is going to get a kick out of this," Rory said, typing out her message to send along with the picture.

"We need to print out a copy to hang up somewhere," Jess said.

"Definitely," Rory said as her stomach growled, "I guess it's time for dinner."

"There's nothing on the stove," Jess said, walking into the kitchen.

"With it being so hot out today I didn't really want to use the stove or the oven and since I didn't know how long I was going to be out I didn't know how much time I would have to prepare something, so I put a roast and some vegetables in the slow cooker after you left this morning," Rory told him.

"Perfect," Jess said, lifting the lid of the slow cooker, "Smells good. Why don't I get Richie and me out of these clothes while you get that plated?"

"Sure. Do you want a glass of wine with yours?" Rory asked.

"If there's still some left in the bottle from dinner the other night than yes, otherwise no reason to open a new bottle," Jess said.

"Just enough for a glass," Rory said, setting the glass down in front of Jess as he took a seat at the table.

"Thank you," Jess said, raising his glass to her as she lifted her water glass, "To Richie, now five weeks old and more adorable than ever."

"To Richie."

* * *

 **AN:** I'm planning ahead for the next several chapters of this story and I'm thinking about Richie's first Halloween. Any costume ideas?


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: "Growing too fast if you ask me,"

* * *

"Thanks so much for coming with me, April," Rory said as the two of them sat in the waiting room of Rory's doctor's office, waiting for her appointment for her six week check up.

Richie was two days away from being six weeks old. They were going to Stars Hollow for the weekend for Hunter's birthday party. He had turned three just a couple days ago. With this being their first trip to Stars Hollow with Richie, Rory and Jess knew there would be an abundance of people wanting to see him so if she was cleared by her doctor, they could have some adult time together while everyone was fawning over their son.

"It's no problem. I'm happy to help," April said, looking over at Richie in Rory's arm. She had him in a carrier, but he started to fuss so she picked him up, "Besides, I love spending time with this little guy."

"And he loves his Aunt April," Rory said, running her fingers along his cheek as he looked up at her. While technically a cousin to Richie through Jess, April was also an aunt to Richie as she and Rory were step-sisters. It seemed odd to April to think of someone so much younger than her as a cousin so they had taken to referring to her as his Aunt April, "Don't you, buddy? You love spending time with Aunt April."

"What time are you guys going down to Stars Hollow?" April asked.

"Whenever Matt and Kara get here. Matt is going to fill in for Jess at the store and Kara is off this weekend so she's coming with and said she would help out," Rory told her, "Are you riding with us?"

"If you don't mind," April said.

"Not at all," Rory told her.

"Lorelai Mariano?" a nurse called.

"My turn," Rory said, placing Richie in April's arms and following the nurse back to the exam room.

"The doctor will be right with you," the nurse told Rory after getting her settled into the room.

"Thank you," Rory told her.

"Hello, Rory. How have you been?" Doctor Adams asked when she walked into the exam room.

"Good. Happy. Tired," Rory told her, "I guess that's to be expected, though?"

"Yep. That's as it is for most new mom's," Doctor Adams said, "So, you're feeling okay? Any pain?"

"No. I feel good. I'll have a little back pain here and there when I'm breastfeeding, but it's not too bad," Rory said, "Jess is good about massaging my back as Richie eats if it gets to be too much."

"Good. That's really good," Doctor Adams said, "Okay, let's get your exam done and assuming you don't want to get pregnant again right away, we'll discuss your birth control options."

"Yes, definitely," Rory said, "We want more kids. Jess and I both grew up only children until we were much older. We want Richie to have a younger sibling close in age to him, but not right away. We want to wait until he is at least a year old."

"Having a sibling closer to your age can be nice. My sisters and I fought like crazy sometimes and I wanted to slap my brother every time he threatened a boy that even just looked at me, but I wouldn't have it any other way," Doctor Adams said, "I love them just the way they are."

"Yeah. We want Richie to have that. I love my siblings, but my brother just turned three and my sister is ten. April, my step-sister is closest to my age, but I was in college when we met and she was just twelve. And Jess' little sister was born when he was twenty-two," Rory told her, "I guess that's what happens when your parents were young when they had you. We don't have that bond with our siblings that I imagine siblings closer in age have."

"That's something I hear from a lot of parents who were only children. And the one's who had a few siblings like me either want to stop at one or space them out to avoid the craziness of a house full of kids," Doctor Adams said, continuing her exam of Rory, "Okay, everything looks good. You've half of your pregnancy weight, only fifteen pounds more to go to get back to your pre-pregnancy weight. And if you're up for it, I see no reason not to resume all normal activities."

"Great. Thank you. Now, I just need birth control," Rory said.

"What were you thinking? I saw in your chart you've had an IUD before," Doctor Adams said.

"Yes, with all the traveling and change in time zones when I worked on the campaign trail after college, I didn't want to worry about remembering to take my birth control pill," Rory said, "So I switched to the IUD. I had it taken out when Jess and I decided we wanted to start trying for a baby."

"So, you want to do the same thing?" Doctor Adams asked.

"Yes. I'd rather not have to worry about remembering to take a pill and when we decide it's time to try for number two, I will have it removed," Rory said.

"Okay. Sounds good. Let's get that taken care of and get you on your way," Doctor Adams said.

* * *

"Rory?" Jess called coming into their apartment Friday afternoon. Matt and Kara had just arrived at the store so now they could head down to Stars Hollow for the weekend, "I was calling you. Is everything alright? And what did you do to your hair?"

"Yeah, sorry. He's been a little more fussy today and he's hungry. I feel like he hasn't let go of my breast all day," Rory told him, "And as for my hair, well when he wasn't grabbing for my breast looking for food he had a hold of my hair, darn near pulling it out. I threw it up in a rush to pick him back up as he cried the moment I put him down to do it," Rory said.

"There's nothing wrong with him is there?" Jess asked.

"No. I called his doctor and she said he's just growing more right now so he's going to want to eat more," Rory told him, "He doesn't have a fever so he's not sick or anything. He has a checkup next week."

"Okay, that's good," Jess said, running his hand along Richie's head as Rory held him against her for his feeding, Richie's eyes fluttering open to look at Jess as he realized he was there, "So we've got ourselves a growing boy."

"Growing too fast if you ask me," Rory said, leaning down to kiss his forehead, "I swear he was half this size a week ago."

"He was a little over six pounds when he was born and was up to seven pounds at his one month check up," Jess said, "He was hardly half his size a week ago."

"I know. It just seems like it," Rory said, placing Richie on her shoulder as he finished nursing to burp him, "You gave Matt and Kara a key, right?"

"Yeah and they said thank you again for letting them stay here," Jess said.

"It only makes sense," Rory said, handing Richie to Jess after burping him, "Why should they pay for a hotel when they can stay here."

"Matt also asked me about our apartment in Philly," Jess told her as he changed Richie's diaper while she double checked that everything for Stars Hollow.

"What about it?" Rory asked.

"Well, our lease isn't up until the end of the year and he asked if we were planning to keep it for whenever we went for a visit or when I need to be there for anything for Truncheon," Jess said, "Him and Kara have been discussing possibly trying for a baby soon and they want a bigger place."

"Are they wanting to move into our apartment?" Rory asked.

"He said they'd like to. Their lease is up at the end of the year, too and they like it," Jess said, "It would save them the trouble of having to look for something. And it would be the ideal place for us to stay if we visit. They were thinking they would leave the guest room downstairs and do like we planned before we moved here and turn the second room upstairs into a nursery."

"Is it possible for them to take over our lease? Now or when it's up?" Rory asked.

"As long as they pass the background check, which they will, it shouldn't be a problem," Jess said, "I was thinking of going down there in a few weeks or something to meet with the apartment manager about it. We would just have to decide what we want to do with our stuff there. We brought most of our stuff with us, but we kept things there for when we visit."

"The clothes we left would easily fit into our closets here and some of the smaller pieces of furniture," Rory said, "The beds are fairly new so we could maybe put them in storage or something. When Richie and any future gets kid older we wouldn't need the nursery so we could always move our office into there and make that another guest room."

"True, plus we'll need a bigger bed for Richie when he's older," Jess said, "We'll look at what all we have there and figure it out."

"Are they planning on getting married anytime before they start their family?" Rory asked.

"I don't think so. They seem pretty content on just living together," Jess said, "Though Matt did say Chris has been thinking about proposing to Lacey."

"Really? Good for them," Rory said, taking a look at her watch, "We should call April and let her know you're home so she can come over and we can go."

"I'll get everything into the living room so it's ready, you call her," Jess said.

"Sure," Rory said.

* * *

"There's my handsome grandson," Lorelai said, reaching for Richie the moment they walked into Emily's house for Friday Night Dinner.

"Hey, Mom, good to see you, too," Rory said as Lorelai walked away with Richie curled up, asleep in her arms.

"How was he on the drive? Did he sleep the whole way?" Emily asked as Rory, Jess, and April took seats in the living room.

"I fed him just before we left so he was asleep when we put him in the car, but woke up once about halfway here," Rory said, "He fussed a bit, but settled down once I gave him his pacifier."

"That's good. You and your mother were always such good traveler's," Emily said, "When we took your to your doctor's appointments as a baby you fell right to sleep if you were awake when we left. Your mother would stop crying the instant the car started moving and start up again when it stopped when she was Richie's age."

"I think that's true for most babies," Rory said, "The movement reminds them of being in the womb."

"It didn't work for Hunter though," Lorelai said, "When he went through his colicky stage, nothing would calm him down. We tried driving him around in the car, putting him in the swing, nothing."

"I remember that. I received many a frustrated phone call during that time," Rory said, "I'm glad Richie hasn't been like that."

"There's still time hun," Lorelai told her.

"So, Jess, how are things at the store?" Emily asked.

"Really good. One of my partners from Philly and his girlfriend came up for the weekend to run the store while we're here," Jess said.

"They helped you out after Richie was born correct?" Emily said, "They stayed in New York so you could be at home with Rory and Richie?"

"Yes, though lately I've been thinking of looking for a manager or something so I can have someone who actually lives in New York that I could trust the store to when I'm not there," Jess said, "April does a great job, but for times like this when we both need to be away, I'd like someone who's maybe more experienced than the others I have working there to be in charge so I can be free to take time off."

"The store is doing well enough for that?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, I'm not getting rich by any means, but sales have been holding steady and people seem to like the open mic nights we do," Jess said, "And while they don't buy a lot, there has been a lot of kids from the neighborhood coming in just to sit and read. That's something I was really hoping for. I probably would have turned my life around a lot sooner if I had a place like that to go to after school."

"That's wonderful. Sometimes making money isn't as important as the happiness you are bringing people," Emily said.

* * *

After Hunter's Jurassic Park themed birthday party Saturday afternoon, Rory and Jess took Richie for a walk through town so everyone could see him and also to tire him out a bit so he would sleep later for Lorelai. He stayed awake through most of the party with all the excitement and noise. Lorelai had given them a room at the inn for the night and volunteered to watch Richie so Rory and Jess could have a night to themselves. With Richie eating a bit more the past few days Rory was nervous to leave him, but had been pumping quite a bit as well to prepare for their weekend in Stars Hollow so Lorelai or Jess would be able to feed him.

"Okay, so if he won't take the bottle or it seems like he needs more, call us okay," Rory said, "We can be here in minutes."

"Kid, I own the inn. I know how far away it is from the house," Lorelai told her.

"Right, true," Rory said.

"And April is here. She's spent time with Richie and has given him a bottle before, correct?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes, she has," Rory said.

"Okay. We'll be fine, hun, trust me," Lorelai told her, reaching for Richie, "Now, hand the kid over and enjoy some alone time with your husband."

"Be good for Grandma, sweetie," Rory told Richie, kissing his forehead as he slept soundly in her arms before handing him to Lorelai.

"Thanks, Lorelai," Jess said, giving Richie a kiss before taking hold of Rory's hand to lead her out of the house.

"You're welcome, now go," Lorelai said, "I will call if we need you, but we'll be fine."

* * *

"The honeymoon suite?" Rory questioned when Jess led them towards the room she hadn't seen in over two years since they last stayed there.

"It's quiet, away from everything and everyone," Jess said, wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing her cheek once they walked inside.

"We'll be able catch up on sleep," Rory said, tilting her head to side as Jess began kissing her neck.

"Among other things," Jess said, running his nose along the side of her face and down to her neck, kissing his way back up to the spot behind her ear that she loved, "I was thinking we could start with a nice long bath."

"Mmm, sounds heavenly," Rory said, turning around in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing his lips before turning her attention to his neck, "You know, Doctor Adams did clear me for my regular pre-pregnancy activities."

"She did, huh," Jess said, resting his forehead against hers when they paused to catch their breaths.

"Yep and I got my new IUD put in so we're good to go if you're up for it," Rory told him.

"Oh, I'm definitely up for it," he told her, glancing down with her eyes following his, "It's been a long six weeks."

"Too many cold showers?" she asked, a smile on her face as she pushed her body closer to his.

"Not really. I just miss that feeling, I guess of being so close to you," Jess said.

"I have, too," Rory told him, pecking his lips, "Let's have that bath and see where the night takes us."

"I'll go fill the tub," Jess said, kissing her once more before leaving her to get their bath ready, "I love you, Book Tease."

"I love you, Dodger!"


	22. Chapter 22

**AN:** Who's up for a bit of new parent struggles? Also, I'm still trying to decide on a Halloween costume for Richie. Any ideas? It could be for Richie or for the three of them as a family? I'm open to whatever. Thanks! Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 22: "You two look mighty comfy."

* * *

Sunday morning after their night at the inn, Rory and Jess returned to Lorelai's house, refreshed and ready to see their baby boy again.

"What the…is that?" Jess asked, looking at Rory as they walked up to the house.

"Richie!" Rory exclaimed, dropping Jess' hand from her own, running into the house towards the cries and scream of her son, "Mom!"

"Shh, it's okay sweetheart. Look Mommy's here," Lorelai said to Richie, patting his back in effort to calm him as she held him close to her chest.

"Is he okay?" Rory asked, reaching for him, her own tears falling at hearing his loud cries.

"He's fine," Lorelai said, "But, you know that colicky stage you were glad you hadn't dealt with? Well, this is it."

"I knew we shouldn't have left him," Rory said, running her finger along his cheek, adjusting her top to nurse him when he turned his head, searching for food.

"Hon, this would have happened anyway," Lorelai told her, "When a baby has colic, there is no rhyme or reason to it, it just is."

"And you're sure there's nothing else going on with him?" Jess asked, kissing Richie's forehead, "He's not warm at least."

"I've checked for a fever twice, once when he first woke up and wouldn't stop crying and again a little while ago," Lorelai said, "He's a little gassy which is typically a sign of colic, but it's not too bad. Other than that he just wants to cry."

"He has an appointment on Thursday, but should we take him earlier just to be sure he's okay?" Rory asked.

"I'm sure it would be fine to wait until his appointment on Thursday, but I took care of that for you anyway," Lorelai said, "I called the after hour's number this morning and you have an appointment at nine tomorrow."

"Thank you," Rory said.

"I'm sure she'll tell you he will be fine, though. He's just going to cry a bit more for a while," Lorelai said.

"I hope it doesn't last too long," Rory said, "I don't think I could take it."

"I know it's rough, babe, but unfortunately you just have to wait it out," Lorelai said, "Hopefully it will only last a few days. Hunter kept it up just over week."

"I hope it doesn't last long. When did it start anyway?" Rory asked, adjusting Richie in her arms, rocking him slightly as he calmed down for the moment and slept.

"He cried for a bit when you first left, but calmed down pretty quickly. He woke up crying at about two, I think and didn't stop until nearly four, even after I gave him a bottle and tried a pacifier," Lorelai said, "He started back up again at six."

"And just calmed down again now?" Jess asked, looking at his watch, "That's another two hours."

"Yeah, it's not easy, but you will get through it," Lorelai said.

"I hope so," Rory said, looking down at her little boy, his lips quivering a bit as he slept.

"Well, at least you were able to get one good night of sleep," Lorelai said.

"Yes, thank you for that," Jess said, "You could have called us so he wouldn't be keeping you guys awake so thank you for taking care of Richie."

"It's no problem. I was happy to do it," Lorelai said with a yawn, "I'm just glad April took Hunter for a sleepover in the diner apartment and Luke is used to getting up early."

"Why don't we get out of here, grab April and head back to the city so you can get some rest," Rory said.

"You guys don't have to leave yet. I should be able to get a little sleep in before he starts up again if you want to stay longer," Lorelai said.

"Thanks, but it's probably better we go now, especially with him already being asleep. We might be able to get a good way there before he wakes up and starts again," Jess said, "And then maybe being home will help calm him more."

"Yeah, Stars Hollow might be too quiet for him so he's making his own noise," Rory said.

"Okay, if you're sure. It was good seeing you. I miss you guys," Lorelai said, giving them both a hug and kissing Richie's cheek, "You'll have to visit again soon or maybe I'll drag Luke up to New York."

"Definitely," Rory said, "You rest and we'll talk to you later."

"Bye, Lorelai," Jess said as Lorelai made her way upstairs to get more sleep.

"Okay, let's get everything in the car and then go say goodbye to Luke and Hunter and the diner," Rory said, "You should give April a heads up before we just show up so she can be ready unless she wants to stay longer and Luke can bring her back."

"I'll do that," Jess said, "You just sit with him and I'll take care of everything."

"Thank you," Rory said.

* * *

Thankfully for Rory, Jess, and April, Richie was calm the entire ride back to New York. He woke up briefly half way home, but with Rory sitting in the backseat with him, humming to him and rubbing his belly, he fell right back to sleep. After dropping April off at her dorm, Rory and Jess took Richie for a walk through the park before returning to their apartment to lay him down again after another feeding.

"He's been fine since we left Lorelai's," Jess said, "Maybe he doesn't have colic and just missed us."

"Maybe, but we won't know for sure until he either cries or doesn't cry for no reason tonight," Rory said, curling up with Jess on the couch to relax and watch a movie while Richie slept, the baby monitor set on the coffee table.

An hour into the movie, Rory had fallen asleep so after carefully moving out from under her and laying her head on a pillow, Jess turned off the baby monitor and went into the nursery to check on Richie. After finding that he was still asleep, Jess closed their bedroom door as well as the sliding door to the nursery in hopes of not waking Rory with Richie's cries until he had to. Sitting down in the rocking chair next to the bassinet, Jess picked up a notebook and started to write, enjoying the quiet sounds of Richie's soft breathing as the words flowed.

* * *

"Jess?" Rory said, laying her hand on his cheek to wake him.

"Hmm? Ror?" Jess asked as he opened his eyes, his voice filled with sleep, "What time is it?"

"Midnight," Rory told him, "You two look mighty comfy."

"I didn't realize I had fallen asleep," Jess said, looking down at Richie in his arms, his cheek resting against his bare chest, "I came in here around two when you fell asleep so I could hopefully get to him before he woke you."

"When did he wake up?" Rory asked, taking Jess' place in the rocking chair as and accepting Richie into her arms.

"He got up about four. Since you still had some bottles I gave him one of those instead of waking you," Jess said, "I laid him back down after feeding him, but he started crying a couple hours later so I picked him up. I was hoping to get him to calm down without waking you so I decided to try the skin on skin we did when he was born."

"Did it stop the crying?" Rory asked.

"Not completely, but he quieted some. He stopped screaming and instead just had a normal sounding cry along with his reddened, scrunched up face," Jess said, "I planned to just hold him until he either stopped or tired himself out enough to sleep. I guess we tired each other out."

"You looked so cute together. I almost didn't want to wake you, but if you want to attempt to get a good nights sleep, I suggest you move to our bed," Rory said, "This chair may be comfortable to sit it for rocking and feeding, but not for long term sleeping."

"What about you?" Jess asked.

"I've been asleep for the past ten hours, I'm good," Rory told him, "I am going to ask you to move his bassinet into the library though so I can sit with him in there."

"You'll be exhausted halfway through the day tomorrow if you don't get at least a few more hours sleep," Jess said.

"I'm going to read awhile and I'll probably end up crashing on the couch in there," Rory said.

"You could just stay in our room, you know," Jess said, "You'll be close to Richie when he wakes up."

"Yeah and so will you. It's my turn," Rory said, "If this gets as bad as some of the days when Mom and Luke were dealing with a colicky Hunter, we're going to need these breaks so we're not too tired and snapping at each other."

"We haven't spent a night apart in a long time," Jess said, laying a hand on her cheek, leaning forward to kiss her, careful not to squish Richie in the process.

"How about I climb in with you in a few hours?" Rory asked, "If he's calm after his next feeding and goes right to sleep?"

"Alright, I'll take it," Jess said, giving her another kiss before placing a kiss on Richie's forehead.

* * *

By Monday afternoon they had arrived back home after Richie's doctor's appointment. While Richie hadn't been crying nearly nonstop for at least three days, he had cried for at least three hours on more than one occasion over the past two. Aside from telling them to keep up with what they were doing; holding him, sharing time time trying to calm him so they didn't get to wore out, and asking for help if they needed a break, the doctor told them Richie was in perfect health. He was on target with his weight gain at just a little over eight pounds, having been just six pounds when he was born and had grown two inches, now at twenty-two.

"Come on, buddy work with me," Rory said, rocking Richie in her arms as she paced the living room a week after Richie's doctor's appointment. There had a been a few days of normal over the past week, but it seemed there were more days of Richie's high pitched screams and cries. For the most part, Rory and Jess had been able to handle trading off staying with him while he cried so they other could rest. April had been a big help and came over a couple of times throughout the week, keeping an eye on Richie for a few hours so hey could get some sleep, "You like it when Daddy lays you against his chest and when mine is available to you, it usually excites you, what's going on today, sweet boy?"

For the first time since being back from Stars Hollow, Rory found herself in the apartment alone with Richie while Jess went to the store to interview some people to run things so he could have more time at home. Kara needed to go back to Philly, but Matt had stayed through the week and was helping Jess with the interviews. Richie was normally pretty calm during the day, but sensing that his Daddy wasn't there like he had been, he wasn't happy and for last two hours he had been sure to let Rory know it.

"I've fed you. I've changed you. I've tried tummy time, which usually makes you happy because you get to see yourself in the mirror," Rory said, taking a seat on the couch as she continued to lightly rock Richie and rub his back, "What can Mommy do to make you happy?"

Another two hours later, Richie had finally cried himself to sleep. Feeling very frustrated, Rory took the baby monitor into the library, hoping reading a book that she planned to review for her first article back in a couple of weeks would help calm her nerves.

* * *

Rory? Ror, are you alright?" Jess asked, shaking her shoulder a bit to wake her a few hours later.

"I'm fine, why?" Rory asked, closing the book that was lying open on her chest and sitting up on the library couch.

"You didn't answer when I called and you didn't hear the monitor either," Jess said, "Richie was crying when I walked in."

"Oh God. Is he okay?" Rory asked, panicked as she looked at the baby in Jess' arms.

"He's fine, Ror, but why didn't you call me?" Jess asked, "You were clearly exhausted if you slept through his crying. You should have called me and I would have come home so you could rest."

"I didn't plan on falling asleep. I was reading and I guess I was more tired than I realized," Rory said, "I thought I could handle it on my own, but it was like he knew you weren't here and it pissed him off."

"Language around the tiny ears," Jess told her with a laugh, covering Richie's ear that wasn't pressed against his chest.

"I'll put a dollar in the jar later," Rory said, getting up from the couch, "Have you eaten? I didn't expect you until later, but I can see what I am able to fix for dinner?"

"I had a late lunch, I'm good," Jess told her, "But, you. You are going to go take a long, hot bath while I order you some food. Then you are going to go sleep in our bed while this guy and I crash in here for the night."

"I'll have to feed him," Rory said.

"You can feed him after you eat. I gave him a bottle when I came home so he's good for a while," Jess said, "Then there are plenty of bottles ready for when he gets up during the night."

"Are you sure?" Rory asked, letting out a yawn.

"Positive, now go," Jess said, giving her a kiss.

* * *

Two weeks later as September was just beginning, Richie was now two months old. He had woken up for his six AM feeding, looking at Rory and Jess with a huge smile, letting out a short laugh when Rory picked him up. They had reached the end of his colic stage a couple days prior. Richie now let out cries almost purely just when he needed something. He did cry on occasion when he just wanted Rory and Jess to hold him, calming down the moment either of them laid him against their chest with his cheek resting against them so he could look out at the world around him.

"Are you ready?" Jess asked, grabbing Richie's diaper bag from the kitchen counter.

"Yeah, I just need to double check I have the book I'm reviewing. I was reading it in the library yesterday while I had Richie in his swing so he could look out the window," Rory said, "I believe I left it in there."

"You got it?" Jess asked, when Rory came out of the library a moment later.

"Yep. I only have a few more chapters to go so I should be able to get them read on the drive and start on my review," Rory said. Since she was able to do her job from home, Rory had started reading and reviewing books again. She was due to turn in her first one since having Richie at the end of the week.

"Tell me why we're going to Stars Hollow for this crazy shindig?" Jess asked as they got into their car. It was Labor Day and Jess had closed the bookstore for the day to give all his employees time with their families. The manager he hired to help run the store so he didn't have to be there all the time had been there for just over a week and was doing really well.

"It's the End of Summer Madness Festival, Jess," Rory told him, "Richie was too little to go down for the Fourth of July. It's his first town event."

"And we're subjecting our son to said madness because?" Jess asked.

"It's fun," Rory told him, rolling her eyes as she looked behind her at Richie, sleeping soundly in his car seat.

"You know I'm not a fan of these town things so why would you think I would want to subject Richie to them," Jess said.

"You've been to town events before," Rory said, "Remember the dance marathon."

"And the bid on a basket thing, I know," Jess said, "As I said before, that was when I was trying to get you, I now have you. In fact, I have you forever. I don't need to go to anymore of these ridiculous town events."

"That's too bad," Rory said, "I was really hoping to create some of our own memories to erase the one's from the first End of Summer Madness Festival."

"You were with Dean then," Jess said.

"Yes and you were with Shane. In fact, you were so with Shane, we would have needed the jaws of life to separate you two," Rory said, "I was kind of hoping you could help me forget the memory of seeing that?"

"You want to make out in the center of town?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Rory asked.

"Nothing. This festival has just become my new favorite," Jess said, reaching for her hand to place a kiss on the back of it as well as on her ring finger.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23: "Today is all about you."

* * *

Once Richie had been fed, Rory went back to sleep for a few more hours after her four AM wake up call from Lorelai. She woke up a second time, just after eight o'clock, to the smell of bacon, coffee, and her freshly bathed baby boy. She opened her eyes to find Richie smiling at her, reaching a hand out to her as he let out a giggle. He was a little over three months old, sharing his first laugh with them just a few days ago.

"I love this t-shirt Daddy dressed you in, baby boy," Rory said, running her fingers along his belly, getting another laugh, "Thank you, sweet boy."

"Happy birthday, Book Tease," Jess said, coming into their room with a tray of food in his hands, setting it down on the end of the bed before joining her and Richie at the head of the bed. Rory had sat up in the bed, pulling her knees up so she could rest Richie against them, lightly tickling him as he babbled to her.

"This shirt is great Jess," Rory said, finger the letters, 'Happy Birthday Mama,' as he kissed her cheek, "Thank you."

"Only the best for Mommy, right Richie?" Jess asked, tickling him as well, getting a giggle as Richie reached for Jess' hand.

"Food smells good," Rory said, looking over at the tray Jess brought in.

"Here, why don't I hold him while you dig into your breakfast," Jess said, bringing the tray closer before picking Richie up and placing him against his own knees so he could still see both Rory and himself.

"Mmm, these pancakes are amazing, what did you do to them?" Rory asked, taking a bite once the tray was on her lap.

"They're made with sweet potatoes," Jess said, "And I made Luke's cinnamon butter to go with them."

"You made me sweet potato pancakes and Luke's cinnamon butter! Jess, you're too much sometimes," Rory said, leaning over to kiss the corner of his mouth.

"Yum, syrupy," Jess said, licking the corner of his mouth that Rory kissed, "You deserve it. You do a lot for me, having dinner ready most nights if Richie's not a handful for you that day, you bring me lunch, and you've been writing for the paper a lot more. Making breakfast for you on your birthday is something I can do and I'm glad to do it."

"Thank you," Rory said, kissing him again, "But making this may have backfired cause these are really good. I'm going to want them all the time now."

"I can deal with that," Jess said, "Being able to be home with you and Richie whenever I want is why I hired extra help at the store. If being home more means making you breakfast in bed, I guess I can deal with that hardship."

"You're such a giver," Rory said, taking a bite of her bacon before taking a sip of her decaf coffee, "You know, I think I almost forget what the real stuff tastes like."

"I doubt that. It will be like welcoming an old friend again in a few weeks when we start Richie on cereal and you don't breastfeed as much," Jess said.

"Are you trying to make me sad on my birthday?" Rory asked, wiping away a tear, "I can't believe he's three months already. He's growing up too fast. First it will be cereal, than it will be fruits and vegetables and before you know it he'll be grabbing things right off the table."

"I don't think it will happen quite that fast, but I agree," Jess said, letting Richie grab onto his finger, "It's like he's grown from this helpless newborn to this amazing little boy with such a bright personality overnight."

"Yeah and he's such a happy little boy, too," Rory said, moving her tray to the side to take Richie back into her arms, "You love showing off that smile don't you."

"He's become such a ham," Jess said, looking at their son, who hadn't stopped smiling since Rory picked him up, grabbing his phone from the nightstand to snap a few pictures of the two of them.

"I don't know how parents handled taking pictures of their kids before the invention of cellphones and digital cameras," Rory said, "It would be a nightmare getting filmed developed with all the pictures we've taken this week alone."

"I'm guessing they probably just didn't take as many pictures," Jess said, "We take a lot because it's easier."

"True. So aside from waking up next to this adorable baby and the breakfast, what else do you have planned for today?" Rory asked.

"Well, I've taken the whole day off. I have a full team at the store today and April is on fall break so she has offered to close up," Jess said, "Today is all about you."

* * *

After clearing away Rory's breakfast tray, Jess took Richie into the living room to play so Rory could enjoy a bubble bath before getting ready for the day. Once she was done, dressed, and Richie had been fed again, they ventured out into the city.

"So, where to first?" Rory asked as they stepped out of their apartment and began walking, Jess holding Richie the baby sling so they could walk hand in hand, "Is it far enough to take the subway or a cab or can we walk it?"

"We'll walk this one. We're only going a couple of blocks and it's pretty nice out," Jess said, looking at her, laughing when he saw her trying to figure out where they were going that was within walking distance of their apartment.

"Grant and Lynn?" Rory asked, twenty minutes later as they stopped outside of Louise and Madeline's boutique, "It doesn't look open. They're never closed during the week."

"They are today. At least to everyone else," Jess said, knocking on the door, waiting for someone to let them in.

"Happy birthday, little mama," Louise said, letting them in and giving Rory a hug.

"Thanks, Louise," Rory said, "So, what are we doing here?"

"The easier question is what are we not doing," Louise said, grabbing her hand and leading her towards a fitting room, "I have you all set up. I've designed three dresses for you to choose from that will work for the evening your husband has planned."

Entering the fitting room, Rory found three dresses in various shades of blue. They were also in different styles, depending on how much or how little she was willing to show off her post baby body. The first dress to catch her attention was one she would have worn in a heartbeat a year ago, but after having Richie she was hesitant. The neckline was a little low and there were cutouts on the sides that would expose her stomach a bit. She had recently got back to her pre-pregnancy weight, but was nervous about showing off that much of her body to anyone but Jess.

"Okay, here's the first one," Rory said, coming out of the fitting room in a sleeveless floor length navy blue gown. It had a slit up the left leg that reached her knee. The neckline went all the way up, but had an open back.

"Wow. You look gorgeous," Louise said, "Turn around for me."

"Is the back too low?" Rory asked, spinning so Louise could see the back.

"No, it's perfect. You look amazing," Louise said, "But how do you feel in it."

"Pretty good, though I think I'd actually prefer one with a lower neckline," Rory said, "I don't really want to show them off, but I'm sure as the night goes on I'll end up feeling like I'm going to explode."

"Okay, we'll save this for when you're not breastfeeding then," Louise said, "Next dress."

The second dress was an ice blue one shoulder gown with lace detail that fell just below her knees. Rory loved it as well, but was nervous not knowing where else Jess was taking her and was afraid she would spill something on it. Dress number three, the one that first caught Rory's eye when she walked into the fitting room was a sleeveless, sweetheart neckline. It was floor length with a slit up the right leg that ended just above the knee. She loved everything about it and felt great in it when she put it on, but the cutouts still made her nervous.

"That's the one," Louise said when Rory came out of the fitting room.

"Are you sure?" Rory asked, "I'm not sure about my stomach being so exposed."

"Rory, you have an amazing body and those cutouts are tiny," Louise said.

"But, can you see my stretch marks?" Rory asked.

"Stretch marks?' Louise asked.

"Yeah, right here," Rory told her, pointing to a small line on her stomach.

"Where?" Louise asked, coming closer to Rory, tilting her head to see what Rory was showing her, "This? Unless someone is this close and looking directly at, you can't even tell it's there."

"Are you sure?" Rory asked.

"Positive. You look radiant," Rory Gilmore-Mariano," Louise told her, "I'd kill to have your body."

"Thanks, Louise. This was the first dress to catch my eye," Rory said, spinning around as she looked at herself in the mirror, "I'm glad I decided to give it a chance."

"Jess is going to love it," Louise told her as Rory came back out after changing back into her other clothes.

"He hasn't see it?" Rory asked.

"Nope, he hasn't seen any of them," Louise told her, "He just told me what he had planned and asked that I make you a new dress. It was my idea to make three. Now you have a dress for tonight and two others you can where whenever."

"Thank you. It's too much, really, but I love them," Rory said, hugging her.

"I'm happy to do it," Louise said.

"So, are we taking these with us or…" Rory asked.

"Leave them. You're going to come back later and get ready here," Louise told her, "I'll bring the other two by another time."

"Great. Hey, so with Jess having you work on these, have you had time to work on the Halloween costumes I asked about?" Rory asked her.

"I have. Jess and Richie's are completely done and so is most of yours," Louise said.

"Most?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, I'm thinking I may have to do like the original and sew you into them," Louise said, "It's the only way to get them that tight."

"Really?" Rory asked.

"We can try a pair, but they'll probably be really hard to get in and out of," Louise said.

"So, finishing sewing them with me wearing them is the best option," Rory said.

"Most likely," Louise said.

"Well, I guess you'll have to either come over on Halloween or we'll come here to get ready," Rory said.

"Here would probably be better. I told Madeline about the costumes and she wants to get Jess' hair right," Louise told her, "She's also looking for a wig for you."

"Awesome. I can't wait to see them. Jess has no idea," Rory said, walking back towards the front of the store.

"I have no idea about what?" Jess asked.

"Louise is working on our Halloween costumes," Rory told him.

"Our Halloween costumes?" Jess asked.

"Yep. All three of us," Rory told him.

"Do I get to know what they are before then?" he asked.

"They're Grease themed," Rory said, "And that's all I'm going to tell you."

"Grease themed. T-Birds, leather jackets, you in a poodle skirt, I can deal with that," Jess said.

"Good, now what's next?" Rory asked.

"You picked out your dress?" he asked.

"I did and Louise said I'm coming back here to get ready so Madeline can do my hair," Rory said.

"Yes, I will pick you up from here when we go out tonight," Jess said, "For now, we have a record store to get to before we stop for lunch."

* * *

Since it was a little farther out, Jess got them a taxi to take them to the old record store he had first taken her to when she came to see him in New York back when they were kids. They were able to look through most of the store, adding several albums to their collection before Richie was crying for food. After finding a place for Rory to feed Richie, Jess got lunch for him and Rory from a nearby deli. They then spent the next couple of hours, walking through a park while Richie went to sleep before heading home so Rory could get back to Grant and Lynn to get ready for her night with Jess while he got ready at home as he waited for Lorelai to arrive to watch Richie for them for the evening.

"Wow, you look incredible," Jess said, walking into the boutique that evening to pick up Rory. The dress and Rory were more beautiful than he could have pictured. Madeline had placed a few soft curls in her hair, pulling back part of it, but mostly leaving it long and flowing with a couple wisps of her bangs framing her face.

"Thank you. You look pretty handsome, yourself," Rory said, coming to him, adjusting his tie, "Must be some pretty fancy place if you're wearing a suit and tie."

"Not too fancy, but I thought it would be nice to dress up for the evening," Jess said, laying a hand on her waist to pull her towards him to kiss her, Rory quickly deepening it, "Mmm, Lorelai's watching Richie and she's staying over so we have all night."

"All night?" Rory asked.

"Yes, we can go home if you want, but I got us a room at The Plaza for the night," Jess told her.

"We haven't been there since last New Year's," Rory said, "I'd like that."

"Good. I was hoping you would say that," he said with a smile, "Our things are already in our room."

* * *

Leaving Grant and Lynn, they got into the car Jess rented for the evening, heading towards Times Square. Having the driver let them out there and giving him the address of where to pick them up, Jess and Rory walked hand in hand through the city, enjoying the lights as they walked down forty-sixth street towards their dinner destination.

"You do love me, don't you," Rory said as they stood outside Minar for a minute before going in."

"I must," Jess said, holding open the door for her, allowing her to enter the Indian restaurant ahead of him.

After being seated, Rory quickly read and reread the menu, trying to decide between her favorite dishes. In the end they shared an appetizer of samosas, garlic naan bread, and Jess ordered tikka masala, chicken vindaloo and lamb curry for them to share so Rory wouldn't have to choose.

"What's the next secret location on your list tonight?" Rory asked as they left Minar and turned the corner towards forty-fifth street.

"It's just up ahead," Jess said, laying a hand on her back as he lead her through the crowd.

"A Night with Janis Joplin?" Rory questioned as they now stood outside the Lyceum Theatre.

"Yep, and tonight is opening night," Jess said, showing their tickets to the doorman and walking into the theatre.

"Mom was talking about this when it was in previews," Rory said, "Does she know you were bringing me here?"

"I told her and I gave her, her own tickets for a show this weekend so the two of you can go together," Jess told her.

"You're the best husband, you know that," Rory said, laying a hand on his cheek to give him a kiss.

"I don't know if I'm the best, but I definitely try to do everything I can to make you happy," Jess said.

"And you succeed," she told him, kissing him again.

"Let's get to our seats," he said, taking her hand, interlacing their fingers and kissing her knuckles.

* * *

A few hours later when the show was over, the car met them outside and they went to Ben & Jerry's to get ice cream before going to The Plaza for the evening. Even though he had planned the whole big evening with show, dinner, the dress, and the stay in the hotel, Jess got Rory a small gift as well.

"Jess, you've given me so much," Rory said.

"You've given me you and Richie," he told her, "I could give you a gift everyday for the rest of our lives and still wouldn't be enough to equal that."

"You're such a sap," she said, shaking her head at him, "Okay, what did you get me?"

"Alright, close your eyes," Jess said, taking a small box out of his pants pocket when they were closed, opening it to place the infinity bracelet he got her on her wrist, "Open."

"Jess, it's beautiful," Rory told him, turning her hand in either direction, allowing the Alexandrite stones on the bracelet catch the light, "It's Richie's birthstone."

"And the jeweler I got it from said we can take it back anytime to have stones changed if we want when we have more kids," he said, "Or I can get you a bracelet or something that's just for that kid."

"Either way works for me," Rory said, "We can decide that when the time comes."

"Happy birthday, Rory," Jess said, taking her hand and kissing her wrist.

"I love you, Jess," Rory said, moving from her seat to sit on his lap.

"I love you, too, Book Tease," he said, kissing her lips.

"Let's get to bed," Rory said as Jess moved to her neck.

"Your wish is my command," he said, picking her up in his arms, causing her to let out a squeal.

"Jess, I can walk," she told him.

"This is faster," he reminded her, kissing her as he walked them towards the bed, laying her on top of the blankets before climbing in beside her.

* * *

 **AN:** Okay, so one, A Night With Janis Joplin did come out in October of 2013 when this chapter is taking place, but it didn't have it's actual opening night until October 10th. Rory's birthday is the 8th so, I figured two days wasn't a big difference. Also, I'm not sure if it's too soon for Rory to have lost her pregnancy weight, but I figure the Gilmore Girls are medical marvels when it comes to weight gain and stuff so I'm having Rory get back to her pre baby weight fairly quick. I was going to include Halloween in this chapter as well, but it became a bit long so it will in the next chapter.


	24. Chapter 24

**AN:** A bit of time jumping here. It's small jumps though. Writing this I realize why tv shows age up babies quickly or just ignore there existence all together, leaving us with scenes of just the parents with no mention of the kids, causing you to wonder who is watching them. It's hard writing for a baby.

* * *

Chapter 24: "He must have a thing for blondes,"

* * *

"No, absolutely not. I. I'm not wearing this. I can't," Jess said coming out of a fitting room at Grant and Lynn, the white sweater with the big red R that Louise made in his hands, "I'll be mocked forever if I wear this. I thought I was going to be a T-Bird."

"You are, just the reformed version from the end of the movie," Rory told him, "Richie is going as the early version with the leather jacket."

"I thought I'd get to be the early Danny with you in a skirt that's insanely too long, but drives me crazy anyway," he said, "Are you at least going as Sandy?"

"Yes, but not the Sandy you're picturing," she told him.

"What do you mean?" Jess asked.

"Think about your outfit," Rory said, pointing out a wig Madeline had set out at a station to put on her once she was dressed, "We have to match."

"Holy hell," Jess said, looking at the blonde wig of curls, understanding now what Rory's outfit was and why he had a letterman's sweater instead of a leather jacket, "I can't wait to peel you out of those leather pants."

"Patience," she said, laying her hands on his chest when he walked towards her, giving her a kiss, "We still have the party to get through."

Wanting to do something for the kids in the neighborhood for Halloween instead of just handing out candy, Rory suggested to Jess that they throw a small party that evening at the store. There was going to be food and games as well as costume contests and plenty of candy. They also set up a costume corner with old clothes and accessories they had collected from friends and family so the kids who wanted to come, but whose parents couldn't afford a costume for them, could put together their own. They had spent all morning at the store getting everything ready. Lorelai was there now while they got into their costumes before heading back to the store.

"You little man are the cutest four month old in the world," Rory said, picking Richie up from his carrier to get him changed into his outfit, "Only your grandmother would pick out a onesie like this."

"Hey, I thought it was funny," Jess said, smirking as he looked at the onesie Lorelai got Richie for his first Halloween. It had a bat on it with the words 'I vant to suck your boob.'

"You would," Rory told him, handing Richie to him, "Hold him a minute while I get his outfit."

"You know, had you found that onesie when Hunter was little you would have bought it," Jess said, sitting down on the floor to play with Richie.

"That's true. I probably would have," Rory said, coming out of the fitting room with Richie's outfit, "He is going to look so adorable in this."

"Handsome, Ror. Boys look handsome. Girls are adorable," Jess said.

"Yeah, yeah, let's get him dressed," Rory said.

"Damn, he actually does look adorable," Jess said, a few minutes later when Richie had been changed into his jeans, white t-shirt, and T-Bird jacket. Rory had also lightly brushed the little bit of hair he had towards the center of his head, twirling the front of into a small curl.

"Told you," Rory said, "Now your turn. You need to get dressed so you can watch Richie while Louise sews me into my pants."

"Okay, give me a minute to turn into a dork," Jess said, handing Richie to her, coming out a few minutes later in the pants and shirt Louise picked out for him along with his white Rydell High sweater.

"Looking good, Mariano," Louise said, "You just need Madeline to do your hair and it will be perfect. Ready, Rory?"

"Yep, let's do this," Rory said, following Louise to the backroom where she did all her sewing after handing Richie off to Jess. After stopping off at the restroom, knowing it would be difficult later with the leather pants, she got the tight black top on and stood up on the platform ready for Louise to get to work on the leather pants.

"Okay so what I'm going to do is get it around your waist and then use this no sew tape to seal up the legs once they are on you," Louise told her, "It will be the simplest and quickest. It will also make it easy for you to get them off later."

"Great, it will be a shame not to have them so I could wear them again, but I unless it's just for Jess I don't see that happening anyway," Rory said.

"I believe I can make much nicer things for you to wear for Jess," Louise said, "These may be tight fitting but you're hardly showing any skin."

"Maybe for Christmas or New Year's or something," Rory said, "Oh or we're planning on leaving Richie with Mom and Luke for Valentine's Day so we can have a couple days to ourselves. He'll be seven months and eating more solid food then so as long as I pump a bit he'll be good for a few days."

"Absolutely. Let me know where you're going and I'll come up with something scrumptious for you to knock his socks off," Louise said, finishing with the second leg on Rory's pants, "There, done. Now you just need your wig, shoes, and your leather jacket."

"Can you grab the wig for me?" Rory asked, "I want Jess to get the full effect when he sees me."

"Sure, just a second," Louise said, going out to get the wig, "Your hair looks great, Jess. We're ready for the wig."

"Yeah, I'm so excited for this. It's about time we got to turn our sweet Sandy into a slutty Sandy," Madeline said, grabbing the wig and following Louise to the back.

"Ready, Mariano?" Louise asked walking out with Madeline ahead of Rory.

"Can't wait," he said.

"Alright, come on out Rory," Louise said, "And be careful on those heels."

"Woah!" Jess said, his eyes wide, his jaw nearing the ground as Rory walked out. He couldn't believe it as his eyes looked her over, starting with the red platform heels, moving up her body taking in the leather pants, the jacket, and the blonde wig, she looked amazing, "Incredible."

"You like it?" Rory asked, walking closer to him, turning so he could see every part of her.

"I love it," he said, "I don't know what encouraged you to choose this Halloween costume, but wow, you look amazing."

"Thank you. You look pretty awesome, yourself," Rory said, laying a hand on his cheek, "I love what Madeline did with your hair."

"Thanks. Now the question is how is Richie going to react to you not looking like yourself," Jess said.

"Oh, he'll be fine," Rory said.

"You're sure?" Jess asked.

"Yeah. I've had this idea for awhile so for the past month I've been coming by here a couple times a week so I could put the wig on and he could get used to it," Rory said.

"Good thinking," Jess said.

"I thought so," Rory said, going with Jess to pick up Richie from his carrier, earning a smile and squeal from him when she picked him up, his hands going right to the wig and tugging on the curls, "Hmm, he never pulls on my hair."

"He must have a thing for blondes," Jess said.

"No, girls for you mister, at least not for another twenty-five years," Rory said, kissing Richie's forehead.

"Twenty-five years? Really?" Jess asked.

"Okay, twenty," Rory said.

"Rory!" Jess said.

"Fine, when he meets someone he loves as much as you love me he can date," Rory said, "No matter what age that is."

"Sounds good," Jess said, kissing her cheek before kissing Richie's forehead and looking at his watch, "Looks like it's time to get going."

"It is," Rory said, looking at her own watch, "Thanks so much you guys. We'll see you in a little while at the party."

"We'll be there," Louise said, "Logan is coming straight from work so I'm bringing his costume with me. Will it be okay for him to change there?"

"No problem," Rory said, "He can use the room we have set up for Richie."

"Great. See you soon," Louise said.

"Bye guys," Madeline told them.

"Bye," Jess said, taking Rory's hand and Richie's carrier as they walked out of Grant and Lynn to the car Jess hired for the night, "Happy Halloween."

"Happy Halloween."

* * *

Thanksgiving weekend, Richie was turning five months old. Two weeks after Halloween, Rory and Jess began giving him baby cereal once a day in addition to breast milk. He loved it and as he sat with them at the dinner table or one of them held him as they ate when they went out, he kept reaching for their plates, anxious to try new things. With Rory's affinity for sweet potato fries and sweet potatoes and in general along with the other vegetables she ate during her pregnancy, they decided it would be best to start Richie with those. So, along with the rest of the meal that he and Jess were preparing Thanksgiving morning, Luke prepared a batch of pureed sweet potatoes for Richie. Not liking the jarred stuff, Luke had taken to preparing homemade baby food for Hunter when he was a baby.

Rory and Jess were once again hosting Thanksgiving. Emily had decided for her first holiday without Richard to go to Paris to visit her sister, Hopey and April once again went to New Mexico for the weekend to be with her mother, though both would be in New York for Richie's first Christmas. Luke, Lorelai, and Hunter were staying the weekend, but Liz, TJ, and Doula would be arriving soon and only staying for dinner as Liz had a craft show she was booked in for the weekend.

"I'll give you the recipe so you can make them yourself and others if he likes it," Luke told Rory as she set Richie in his high chair, placing a bib on him so he didn't get his 'First Thanksgiving' outfit dirty.

"Are you sure I'll be able to handle it?" Rory asked.

"It's not too difficult. It's a bit of work, but the food is better for him," Luke said.

"True. It's tastes pretty good to me actually," Rory said, taking a bite of cooled, pureed sweet potatoes before giving Richie his first bite, "Okay, here we go, little man."

Putting a small bit of sweet potato on a baby spoon, Rory brought the spoon to Richie's lips, watching him eye the spoon and her before opening his mouth. After a few seconds he swallowed it down, opening his mouth, ready for more.

"He likes it," Rory said, getting him another spoonful, feeding him for the next few minutes.

"So, sweet potatoes were a hit?" Jess asked, joining Rory and Richie at the table where Richie sat with specks of orange around his lips as Rory fed him the last bite from the dish.

"Yep, he ate them pretty quickly, too," Rory said.

"And now it looks like he's tired," Jess said as he watched Richie rub his eyes with his hands, "Sure you didn't sneak him any turkey, let that tryptophan hit him."

"Nope, just the sweet potatoes," Rory said, wiping Richie's mouth off and picking him up out of his chair, his head quickly falling to her shoulder.

"Want me to take him?" Jess asked.

"Sure. I'll help Mom finish setting the table," Rory said, handing Richie to Jess, "Your Mom and TJ should be here soon."

"Great," he said, sarcasm in his tone.

"Hey, you love Doula," Rory reminded him.

"True. You ever find it weird that we're so much older than our siblings?" Jess asked.

"A little. It's hard not getting to see them all the time like we would had we all grown up at the same time," Rory said, "But that just makes our limited time with them that much more special."

"Right. Doula can be annoying sometimes. I suppose that's part a little sister's job and part because she's TJ's kid," Jess said, "but, I love her anyway."

* * *

A week after Thanksgiving, Jess came home to the smell of burnt pumpkin, a blackened baking sheet, and a tearful wife struggling to feed their son.

"He won't eat, Jess," she told him when he came into the nursery and saw her in the rocking chair, holding Richie in her arms as he cried along with her, refusing to latch on to her breast, "I tried making food for him like Luke, but I failed and now he's hungry. We ran out of his cereal yesterday and I forgot about it when I went to the store today. I don't have any more bottles ready so getting it from me is the only way, but he won't eat."

"Let me have him," Jess said, holding his arms out for her to hand him over.

"What, you suddenly develop the ability to breastfeed?" Rory asked.

"Just, trust me," he said, taking Richie from her, holding him close to his chest, rubbing his back in effort to calm him as he kneeled down in front of Rory, "Now, close your eyes and take a deep breath."

"Jess, he's hungry. He needs to eat," Rory said.

"And he will, but you need to calm down. He can sense that you're upset," Jess said, giving her hand a squeeze, "Deep breaths, relax. Good. Now, let's try this again."

"Okay. Give him to me," Rory said, taking another deep breath, guiding Richie to her breast, sighing in relief when he latched on and began sucking.

"I'll leave you be and go clean up the kitchen," Jess said, kissing her forehead and wiping away her last few tears as they fell.

"Thank you," Rory said.

"So, you want to tell me what happened here today and why the entire apartment smells like burnt pumpkin," Jess said, when Rory joined him in the living room a little while later after getting Richie fed and laid down.

"I gave Richie the last of the sweet potatoes that Luke made the other day," Rory said, laying her head on his shoulder as he put his arm around her.

"I remember," Jess said, "He said he gave you a recipe so you can make your own."

"He did and I followed it," Rory told him, "Since we already knew Richie liked sweet potatoes I wanted to try something else. Butternut squash is pretty similar in taste and texture so I decided to try that, but I had to get one first."

"Okay, naturally. So you went to the store," Jess said.

"Yeah and there were no problems there, except me forgetting that we also needed his cereal," Rory said, "I followed Luke's directions exactly for roasting the squash before pureeing it, but either the oven timer is broken or I set it wrong because it didn't go off."

"Hence the all black pan and the burnt pumpkin smell," Jess said.

"Yeah. I just wanted to make our son some good, homemade baby food," Rory said, "It wasn't supposed to be that difficult."

"Hey, it could have happened to anybody," Jess said, kissing the top of her head, "How about you order us some dinner while I go get Richie's cereal, a new butternut squash and some more sweet potatoes. When I get back we'll make up some food for him together."

"Sounds good. Thank you," Rory said, lifting her head from his shoulder to kiss him.

"I'll be back soon," Jess said, getting up from the couch, kissing her again before leaving, "Love you."

"Love you, too."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: "He doesn't know it's Christmas, much less which present came from which family member."

* * *

"Don't you think you went a little overboard?" Rory asked as Jess placed a few more gifts for Richie under the tree. Christmas was a few days away and they were readying themselves for the arrival of their families. Their apartment was all set for their guests. Luke and Lorelai would be in one room with Hunter, Liz and TJ in another with Doula, and Jimmy and Sasha were coming from California and staying in the last room. Rory and Jess offered their room to Emily, but she said she would prefer to stay in a hotel. With them only being a few years apart and having some similar interests, Jess' step sister Lily had bonded with April and would be staying with her when they weren't at Rory and Jess' apartment. Christopher and Gigi were already in the city, deciding to spend all of Gigi's break from school in the city in the Hayden family apartment.

"What? It's his first Christmas, Rory," Jess said, "Besides, you know how many presents our mother's are going to be adding to this? It's the first Christmas they've had a grandchild to spoil. I have to get my fill in so he knows he got just as many from us as he did from his Grandmother's."

"He's not even six months old yet, Jess," Rory reminded him, "He doesn't know it's Christmas, much less which present came from which family member."

"He may not know it now, but when he's older and he looks at pictures from his first Christmas he'll see that the most and likely best presents came from us," Jess said.

"It's not like it's a competition," Rory said.

"I know that and you know that, but Lorelai," he said.

"True. Maybe we should get a few more things just in case," Rory said, "You never know what Mom has up her sleeve."

* * *

"Wow, that's a lot of presents for one little man," Lorelai said, walking into the apartment with Hunter in her arms.

"There's half of that in the back of the truck," Luke said, "He's only six months old. Don't you think this is all a little much?"

"You picked out half of it," Lorelai said, "And besides, it's our first grandchild's first Christmas. It's our job to spoil him."

"Not all of the gifts we have are for Richie," Rory said, coming down the hall from their bedroom with Richie in her arms, "There's some for Hunter, Lily, Doula, Gigi, and all the rest of us, too."

"I thought we were just getting presents for the kids this year?" Lorelai asked.

"Is this you saying you didn't break the rules and get me something, too?" Rory asked.

"No, I got you something, a few something's, most of which are my size, too," Lorelai told her, "I just didn't expect you to break the rules, too."

"When have we ever followed the rules, Mom?" Rory asked her.

"True, never," Lorelai said, "What are we if not professional rule breakers."

"Okay, so presents under the tree?" Luke asked, walking away from Rory and Lorelai when Jess walked in the door with the rest of the things from the truck.

"Yeah. Just set it anywhere," Jess said, "He's starting to scoot around a bit, but he's not fully mobile so he hasn't got into anything yet."

"Good and Hunter knows to leave it alone until Christmas," Luke said, following Jess to the room they would be staying in while Lorelai took Richie into her arms and Rory picked her brother up to give him a big hug.

* * *

"That bookstore of yours is incredible, Big Brother," Lily said, walking into the apartment the morning of Christmas Eve with April as they arrived for breakfast, "April took me by there yesterday. There are so many books I want to read."

"Whatever you want, it's yours," Jess told her, "Take what you like, Lily-Lou, from the bookstore or from our collection here. You just have to return the one's you got from here."

"Thanks, Jess. I'll start looking after breakfast," Lily said, taking a seat at the table as Luke was plating pancakes for everyone, "Thanks, Luke."

"You're welcome, Lil," Luke said, setting a plate in front of April when she sat down next to Lily.

"Thanks, Dad," April said.

"So, have you given any thought to what college you'll be attending, Lily?" Rory asked.

"I have all my applications in, but I haven't decided where yet, for sure. I'll probably make that decision for sure once I see who accepts me," Lily said.

"It's going to be a hard decision than because everyone is going to accept you, I'm sure of it," Jess said.

"I appreciate the confidence, Jess, but several of the schools are really hard to get into," Lily said.

"You're practically a genius, Lil. Any school would be crazy not to let you in," Jess said.

"Well, here's hoping," Lily said, taking a bite of her pancakes.

* * *

That night everyone was gathered at Rory and Jess' apartment. Luke had fixed everyone a simple dinner and now everyone was scattered around the living room enjoy cider and hot chocolate as they ate the cookies Luke had made before retiring to their rooms and other apartments or hotels for the evening. In keeping with Lorelai and Rory's holiday traditions Luke also made a pot of candy cane coffee for them to enjoy, with Rory sticking to one small cup now after feeding Richie and waiting to have another until after she fed him in the morning to be sure the caffeine wouldn't affect him. In addition to some chocolate chip and snickerdoodle cookies, Luke also made up a batch of sugar cookies that the kids as well as Lorelai and Rory could decorate before eating them. Hoping to get Richie to sleep well that night, he had been very active and excited all day with so many people around paying attention to him, Rory had the idea to start a new tradition.

"Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse," Jess began, the Clement C. Moore story laying on his lap, his arm around Rory as she rested her head on his shoulder, Richie laying on her chest, fighting to keep his eyes open as he listened to his father's voice.

"But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT!" Jess said, closing the pages of the book, looking over to Rory, asleep next to him as well as Richie, kissing them both on their foreheads.

"Looks like we lost a few," Lorelai said, looking at Hunter in her lap and Luke next to her, his head resting on the back of the couch they were sitting on, both of them asleep.

"More than a few," Jess said, looking around the room, seeing only Emily, Chris, Jimmy, and April awake apart from him and Lorelai.

After carefully, taking Richie from Rory to put him in his crib, Jess returned to the living room for Rory, carrying her into their room before returning to the living room to see Chris and Emily off. Chris had picked Gigi up and had offered to drop Emily at her hotel. Not wanting to wake her up, April decided she and Lily could just stare there. Lily and Doula had fallen asleep in the corner of the living room they had chosen to sit in while Jess read the story, so April joined them and quickly fell asleep herself.

Jimmy woke up Sasha and the two of them went to their room while Lorelai carried Hunter to bed before returning to wake up Luke. Remembering his mother was not the nicest person when she was first woken up, Jess decided to leave Liz and TJ where they were in the armchair they had fallen asleep in. He threw a blanket over them and turned a light on in the guest room they had been using with the door open slightly so they could see if they woke up in the night and wanted to go to their bed.

"Merry Christmas, Jess," Lorelai whispered, nodding to the clock above the stove that showed it was now just a few minutes after midnight, as she placed a few cups in the sink, helping Jess clear the dishes from everyone's dessert.

"Merry Christmas, Lorelai," Jess said.

* * *

"Merry Christmas, Book Tease," Jess said, kissing her arm, up to her shoulder, nuzzling his nose in her neck before kissing her, hoping they had at least a few minutes before Richie alerted them to his wakefulness. Since they started him on cereal and pureed vegetables a couple weeks before he hasn't been waking up in the middle of the night demanding to be fed. And since he was up later than normal due to it being Christmas Eve and his excitement of being around so many people, Rory and Jess were hopeful that Richie would sleep in a bit.

"Merry Christmas, Dodger," Rory whispered against his lips, moving so she was laying on her back with Jess above her, kissing every inch of her face, moving back to her neck, biting her ear, "Mmm, a very merry Christmas, indeed. What a way to wake up."

"And it would be an even better wake up call if we didn't have ten other people in the house," Jess said, sitting up and reaching over to his bedside table to get her present.

"We can make up for when they leave," Rory said.

"Oh, we will," Jess said, kissing her neck and setting the box in her hand, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Jess," Rory said, going into her own bedside table to retrieve his present and handing it to him, "Merry Christmas."

"Thank you," Jess said, untying the ribbon on the present she got him as she did the same with the one in her lap, "Rory!"

"You cracked the face on your old one," Rory said, shrugging her shoulders as he placed the watch on his wrist, fastening it in place, "You needed a new watch."

"Yeah, but this," Jess said, running his fingers along the black faced, silver and black banded TAG Heuer watch, "This is too much."

"You deserve it," she told him, giving him a kiss before opening the box she had unwrapped, but hadn't yet opened, "Oh, my. Jess. It's gorgeous."

"You're gorgeous. That's a nice accessory," he told her as she looked at the ten karat white gold, black and white diamond drop necklace with a Tahitian pearl, "I've noticed you taking a liking to the black and white diamonds in the windows as we've passed some of the jewelry stores and the pearl is Richie's birthstone. Though I liked the colors on the Tahitian better than the normal pearl."

"Yeah, it's amazing. This will be great with my dress for Louise's New Year's Eve party," Rory said.

"That's right. It's a bronze sort of color and this has touches of that," Jess said, taking the necklace from her to clasp around her neck, kissing just below the clasp, moving to her shoulders as a soft babble began on the baby monitor, "Guess that's my cue to press the pause button."

"Yep, our son is demanding our attention," Rory said, pushing their blanket aside as she got of the bed to make her way to Richie, picking him up when she got to him, earning her a smile, "Merry First Christmas, little man."

"Morning, buddy. Merry First Christmas," Jess said, running his hands on Richie's back as Rory adjusted her top to feed Richie, laughing when he latched on quickly and hungrily sucked, "Seems someone is hungry this morning."

"He's a growing boy, Jess," Rory said, leaning down to kiss Richie's forehead, "Why don't you go see if anyone else is up and I'll be out in a bit. The way he's eating, I don't see this taking long."

"Alright. I'll get a bit of cereal prepared for him, too," Jess said.

"Thanks, Jess," Rory said, turning her gaze back to Richie as Jess left the room after kissing them both on the cheek.

* * *

The rest of the morning after breakfast was spent opening all the presents under the tree. The majority of them were for Richie, a lot of new toys and clothes. Knowing Jess' love for Hemingway and that Rory was a fan of Jane Austen, April had found t-shirts to satisfy them both. She found a Hemingway one with a picture of some books and the quote 'There is no friend as loyal as a book,' and another which read, 'but for my own part, if a book is well written, I always find it too short.'

"These are adorable, April," Lorelai said, when Rory handed them to her to see.

"Thanks, I love the one's you got, too, Lorelai," April said, handing the couple of onesies Lorelai got back to Jess after looking at the two.

"Snuggle this muggle. That's adorable, Lorelai," Lily said.

"And I love the baby rings on this one," April said, looking again at the one with 'Lord of the Rings' printed on it.

"Who knew such clever things existed," Jimmy said.

"You found a pretty cool one yourself," Jess told him. While their relationship still wasn't great and Jess honestly never expected it to be a close one, they got along whenever they saw each other and good always bond over a good song. To continue that with Richie, Jimmy got him a shirt with a thought bubble that had the words, 'What would Joe Strummer do?' inside it.

In addition to all the gifts for Richie, Rory had received a few tops and dresses from Lorelai and Liz had made her a bracelet that matched the necklace Jess got her. After telling Luke she wanted to be able to make baby food for Richie like he had been making for Hunter and for Richie when they visited, Rory had received a machine Luke had read was supposed to be easy to use, along with a timer she could clip to her pocket that would vibrate when it went off so she would hopefully avoid burning anything again. Rory just hoped it all worked for her as she hadn't had too much luck so far unless Jess or Luke were helping her.

"If all this doesn't work than either Luke is going to have to make big batches that I can freeze and hopefully don't ruin or Richie is going to be trying the store bought stuff," Rory said.

"There's nothing wrong with the store bought baby food. It's what I fed you and while Hunter did seem to prefer Luke's homemade, he did eat the stuff from the store on occasion," Lorelai said, "And unless it's like pureed turkey and gravy, it's not too bad. Hunter's favorite was the pears. Yours, too."

"You really liked pears when you a baby, too, Jess, as did Doula," Liz said.

"Guess that will be the first fruit we try," Jess said, leaning back on the couch with Rory, placing an arm around her as they watched Richie playing on the floor in front of them, being entertained by Hunter, giggles coming from both of them.

"They are so adorable," Lorelai said, watching her son and grandson.

"Hunter loves that boy," Emily said.

"Pretty sure the feeling is mutual, Grandma," Rory said, smiling as Richie, sitting against his support pillow, reached a hand out to Hunter, laughing when his uncle tickled him.

"Those two are going to be as close as brother's," Emily said, "And it's going to be beautiful to watch."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: "Richie picked this out?

* * *

"Richard Holden Mariano!" Rory said, calling to her almost ten month old son as he ran away from her and out the bedroom door towards the living room when he heard their apartment door open, signaling his father was home.

Just after the new year, Richie had started crawling. Then over Valentine's Day, he stayed with his grandparents so Rory and Jess could have some time alone and discovered crawling wasn't enough to keep up with Hunter. He began standing and taking a few steps at a time shortly after and by the end of March he was completely on his feet and could now chase his Uncle Hunter around as much as he wanted.

"Dada," Richie said, running into Jess' arms as Rory stood back, watching her husband and her son, big smiles on their faces as they embraced each other. It had been a big moment for Jess when he first said it. Luke and Lorelai had came to pick Hunter up from a weekend he spent with them a few weeks after Valentine's Day and a few hours after they left he was playing with some toys with Richie when the word slipped out.

Neither Rory or Jess had spent too much time trying to encourage him to say the word, but had heard Hunter say it a few times when he would talk to Richie as the two of them played. Hunter had also squealed for his own "Dada" when Luke and Lorelai arrived so they figured Richie had just picked it up from him. For Jess, just hearing Richie call him "Dada" meant everything. Never in his life had he ever called anyone "Dad." Even with him in his life and talking on occasion, Jess still called his own father, Jimmy so hearing his own son call him "Dada" really touched him.

"Looks like it's bath time," Jess said, carrying Richie towards Rory so the three of them could walk back into the bedroom.

"You're early," Rory said.

"Sorry," Jess said.

"Never fails. I was hoping to get his bath in before you got home today, but as soon as he hears that door he takes off," Rory said, taking their naked little boy back from his father, setting him into the thankfully still warm water while Jess changed out of the clothes he had worn to work, in favor of his favorite pajama pants, "I swear, next time I'm holding off until you get home."

"As long as he's not running through here wet in the middle of winter sans clothes, he's good," Jess said, joining them to assist Rory in washing their giggling baby boy, trying to avoid the splashes of water as Richie bounced his favorite toys in the bubbles.

"True, though I'm kind of glad you were early so he wasn't running through here wet and almost slipping again," Rory said, pouring a bit of water over his head, rinsing out his baby shampoo.

"Alright splash monster," Jess said a few minutes later, picking Richie up out of the tub and handing him to Rory as she wrapped a towel around him, "Time to get you dressed."

"No," Richie said, wiggling around in his mother's arms until she was forced to set him down so she wouldn't drop him, running into his room he grabbed a toy car from his toy box, dropping to the floor driving it over the rug they had made special for him. Instead of the usual generic city map rug most kids had, Lorelai had found someone who could make one up of any city they wanted so they had one made up of Stars Hollow, complete with pictures of the gazebo, the diner, and all the houses of everyone they knew.

"You just couldn't wait to play with your toys, huh buddy?" Jess asked him, joining him on the floor while Rory grabbed his pajamas.

"Isn't it a little early for this?" Rory asked, "He's not supposed to be so defiant until he's a teenager."

"Ma," Richie said, handing a car to her to play with when she sat down with him and Jess.

"Thank you, sweetie. Let's get you dressed so you can continue playing," she said, setting the car down on the rug, holding her arms out to him.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear the kid shares DNA with Kirk somewhere with this naked phase of his," Jess said.

"Or Finn. I swear he was naked half the time I knew him at Yale," Rory said, "I'm sure he'll grow out of it though. It's just his Tommy Pickles phase. No harm in that."

"Tommy Pickles?" Jess asked.

"Yeah. Didn't you ever watch Rugrats?" Rory asked.

"Sometimes. Can't say I remember that one," Jess said.

"I think it was a pretty early episode. Wanting to be like his dog and Reptar, Tommy takes off his shirt and diaper, declaring to the other babies that being naked is freeing," Rory told him.

"How profound," Jess said.

* * *

"Do you and Jess have any big plans for your anniversary? It's coming up in just a couple weeks," Lorelai asked, giving Hunter a push. She and Rory had taken Hunter and Richie to the park for a few hours at Luke and Jess' insistence so they could prepare dinner for all of them.

"It's in the middle of the week so we can't really go anywhere on the actual day so I think we're just going to go out to dinner that night," Rory said, pushing Richie as he swung alongside Hunter, "We'll probably have April watch Richie for the night. I'm not entirely sure, Jess hasn't mentioned any plans."

"I imagine he'll surprise you. He usually does," Lorelai said.

"Very true. He already did with breakfast in bed this morning, helped served by this little man here and then of course you guys showing up was a surprise ," Rory said, "Though that surprise was on you, too. You never mentioned you were coming."

"That was the idea. I wanted it to be a surprise, but did you really expect me to miss your first Mother's Day?" Lorelai asked.

"I was hoping you wouldn't," Rory told her with a smile, "It's a pretty cool feeling."

"What?" Lorelai asked.

"Walking down the street and seeing the displays of gifts in the windows, the cards at the front of the store, all dedicated to Mother's Day," Rory said, "It's really cool to see all that and know that today is for me too now. I'm a Mom."

"Ma," Richie said, reaching up for her to pick him up when the swing stopped.

"Slide!" Hunter said, pointing to the piece of equipment across from the swing set they were on.

"Okay, we'll go on the slide," Lorelai said, picking him up from his swing, setting him on the ground where he immediately ran off towards the slide.

"Me," Richie said, wiggling in Rory's arms so she would put him down so he could follow after his uncle.

"Slow down, buddy," Rory called, moving quickly after him as Lorelai chased after her brother.

"Hun," Richie called after his uncle as he watched him climb the steps up towards the slide.

"Richie, slide," Hunter said, running from the bottom of the slide towards the steps to take another turn.

"Let Mama help you buddy," Rory told Richie, taking hold of his hand as he began to try to follow Hunter up the steps.

"Hold tight to Richie, sweetie," Lorelai told Hunter as Rory set her son in her little brother's lap so the two could slide together. It wasn't a big slide. It only took a couple steps to reach the top of and the slide itself was short enough that Rory or Lorelai could lay on it and touch the top and have their feet flat on the ground. Even though it was a short slide, Rory didn't want Richie going on his own until he was older so letting him slide along with Hunter while she was at the top and her mother at the bottom was the best option.

"Hunter don't move until Mom takes Richie from you, okay," Rory said.

"Okay," Hunter said as he scooted forward a bit to slide down the slide, squealing along with Richie as they went down into Lorelai's awaiting arms.

"Was that fun?" Lorelai asked her grandson, picking him up, Hunter taking off quickly to go again.

"Mo," Richie said, pointing towards the slide, showing he wanted to slide more.

"You want to go again, Richie?" Rory asked, taking her son from her mother.

"Mo," Richie said once again.

"Okay. How about we go with Mama this time," Rory said, carrying Richie up the steps, sitting down with him in her arms, kissing his cheek before taking off down the slide.

The next hour or so was spent continuing to play at the park. Richie loved the slide, especially when Rory finally let him go somewhat by himself, holding him up from the side of the slide as he slid down, her hands never leaving him. When they weren't sliding or going back on the swings, Hunter and Richie spent their time chasing each other around, simply enjoying running and being outside. Before they left Rory and Lorelai took turns accompanying the boys on the bigger, twisty slide that was too high up for them to go themselves. Hunter had watch another boy go down it and wanted to go, but became scared when he saw how high the steps were. After the park, they walked back to the apartment, excited to see what the men had prepared.

* * *

Walking into the apartment with the kids, Rory and Lorelai were hit with the scents of the delicious food Jess and Luke had been preparing.

"Everything looks great guys," Lorelai said, looking at the spread set out on the dining room table.

Luke and Jess had prepared a roasted beef tenderloin, baked potatoes, baby carrots, a salad, and some mashed sweet potatoes for Richie. For dessert Jess got a cake from a bakery a couple blocks from them that Rory loved and went to often when she walked with Richie. He had got a devil's food and had them pipe Happy First Mother's Day Rory on it. Luke had also made one of his boysenberry pies since it was Lorelai's favorite.

"Wow, I'm stuffed," Lorelai said, setting her fork down on her plate after her second piece of pie.

"Everything was amazing," Rory said, "Thank you for making all this. I couldn't have asked for a better first Mother's Day."

"It was our pleasure," Jess said, leaning over to kiss her, taking a box from his pocket to hand to her, "And it's not over yet."

"Jess. You didn't have to get me anything. The breakfast, this dinner, Mom and Luke coming," Rory said, "I don't need anything else."

"Well, it's not from me. Your son picked it out actually," Jess told her.

"Richie picked this out?" Rory asked, holding the small white box in her hand.

"Yep. I took him to the store with me and he was walking back and forth looking in all the cases, pointing at different things. The people there loved it," Jess said, "He was looking at different things saying 'Ma' or 'pitty' to the things he liked."

"And you got him to pick just one?" Rory asked with a laugh.

"Surprisingly yes," Jess told her, "After awhile of looking his little eyes found that made his whole face light up when he saw. I think it was the bright color on the stone, but it's perfect nonetheless."

"Oh wow. It's beautiful," Rory said, opening the box in her hands, touching the word that had become her favorite the moment it belonged to her. Richie had pointed out to Jess a white gold and white sapphire 'Mom' necklace with a heart instead of an 'O.' In the center of the the heart was a big purple, alexandrite stone to represent Richie's birth month of June.

"Ma," Richie said, reaching to her from his highchair.

"Come here, baby boy," Rory said, setting the necklace on the table and picking him up, setting him in her lap before picking the necklace up again, "Did you help Daddy pick this out for Mommy?"

"Ma, pitty," he told her, grabbing the box from her to look at the necklace.

"Yes, very pretty. Thank you sweet boy," Rory said, kissing his cheek before taking the box back from him, handing it to Jess so he could put it on her.

"Pitty," Richie said again, fingering the necklace as it rested against Rory's chest.

"It's beautiful, Richie," Lorelai said, getting a look at the necklace, "You did a good job picking that for Mommy."

"Ga!" Richie said, turning around on Rory's lap, holding arms out to Lorelai when he heard her voice.

"Why don't you go to Grandpa," Lorelai said, handing Richie to him, "He can take you to go play in the living with your parents and Hunter while Grandma Lorelai does the dishes."

"You don't have to that Lorelai," Jess told her, "Luke and I were going to do them."

"Or we can leave them and I'll do them tomorrow," Rory said.

"No. You guys go hang out in the living room. This is my gift to you my darling daughter," Lorelai said.

"Thanks, Mom," Rory said, before joining the rest of the family in the living room where Richie and Hunter already had half of Richie's toys out of his toy box, trying to decide what they wanted to play with.

* * *

Once Lorelai had finished the dishes she joined them all in the living room, sitting with Rory on the couch as they watched their husbands playing with their sons for awhile before Lorelai, Luke, and Hunter headed back home, leaving Rory and Jess to get Richie off the bed before retiring for the evening.

"This was the best first Mother's Day," Rory said as she and Jess lay in bed after getting Richie laid down, "You guys all really went above and beyond. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Jess said, kissing her, "Happy to do it. You deserve it. You're the best Mom."

"I love you, Jess," Rory said.

"I love you, too," he told her, kissing her again before pulling her close to him, his arm around her as she laid her head on his chest.

"Goodnight, Dodger," Rory mumbled, kissing his chest as she closed her eyes.

* * *

 **AN:** I'm really, really trying to keep up with writing this and my other two stories. It's like I have senioritis or something. I have been struggling to find the motivation to just sit down and write. But, I will not abandon any of my stories. They will get done. I have so much I want to do and say with this one. It has a long way to go to before being done. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know I had Richie walking a bit early, but some kids do that and he was motivated to walk so he could keep up with Hunter. Thanks and happy reading!


	27. Chapter 27

**AN:** Happy Birthday, Gilmore! Two years ago today, fifteen years after Gilmore Girls first aired I posted my one shot, Fifteen Years Gone. Now, with this chapter we get a little bit closer to where that scene takes place! I will be leaving on vacation on Sunday and will be gone for twelve days. My vacation is a big part of my lack of updating as I've been working a lot to make up for the time I'll be off (pto only goes so far) and saving for the trip itself. I've also been spending a lot of time planning and researching, but now finally it's almost here. Sunday afternoon, I am getting in a car with my best friend and we are road tripping to Wilmington, NC! If you're a One Tree Hill fan like me, you know how excited I am for this! I've never been and I haven't been on a vacation in fifteen years so I'm looking forward to this trip! Enjoy the chapter, everyone! I hope to have a new one for you when I get back. Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 27: "He's so precious like this. I could watch him sleep forever."

* * *

A couple weeks after Mother's Day, the Mariano's were in Stars Hollow for the town's Memorial Day celebration. They had a big barbecue with tons of food provided potluck style by nearly everyone in town. They had a bunch of games and activities for the kids. Richie was in love with the bounce house. He couldn't quite keep his footing in it like the older kids who had been walking longer, but he loved crawling around it as it bounced while everyone else jumped. They also had water balloons for the kiss to toss and throw. The Memorial Day celebration was also another time for the town reenactors to get together and honor the town's history, as well as pay tribute to the fallen soldiers. Richie loved all the new food he had been able to try, especially the red, white, and blue popsicles that Sookie had made. His favorite part of Memorial Day turned out to be the water balloons. He couldn't throw them like he had seen his Uncle Hunter and other kids doing, but he loved watching them break as he dropped them at his feet, splashing in the water each time as it puddled beneath him, giggling with each one.

* * *

"Bue, Bue," Richie said looking up at the television screen as he played with his blocks.

"Is he okay? Did he hurt himself?" Louise asked. She was making a couple things Rory wanted for Richie for his first birthday so she had dropped by, "He's saying boo boo."

"He's fine. He's actually trying to say blue," Rory told her, pointing to the screen, "Grover is his favorite."

"And he can't say his name so he calls him by his caller. Okay," Louise said, "Explains the theme of the party."

"Yep, little man loves his Sesame Street, especially Grover," Rory said, "He picked it up from Hunter. Hunter loves the show and Richie came back from a visit once chanting 'Bue Bue' over and over. Like you, Jess and I assumed he had hurt himself and began frantically searching him for injuries and called Mom to make sure nothing had happened. She heard him in the background and told us about his new love for the little blue Muppet."

"He hadn't seen any Sesame Street before? I think I watched it a lot as a kid," Louise said.

"Neither Jess or I were into it as kids. I watched old reruns of shows my Mom loved and Jess' Mom couldn't afford a television until he was older," Rory said, "We both saw it a few times when we were younger, but just never really took a big liking to it."

"You think he's excited for his big first birthday party?" Louise asked.

"I'm not sure he even realizes it's coming up. He loved looking at all the decorations when we went to the party store," Rory said, "But, he was just excited seeing all the characters."

"Are you excited?" Louise asked.

"I'm more sad, actually," Rory told her, "It will be exciting to see his face light up as he's opening his presents and everything, but it's hard watching him grow up. He's not so much my little boy anymore."

"He's still a little boy, Rory," Louise said.

"Yeah, but not little enough to hold in my arms," she told her, "Before long he'll be too big to even sit in my lap."

"I think you have a while before that yet," Louise said, smiling as Richie put down his toys and crawled into Rory's lap, grabbing at her shirt, "Looks like that's my cue."

"You can stay if you want. He won't nurse long. Just long enough to fall asleep," Rory told her, draped a blanket across her chest, "After I put him down we can watch a movie or plan out more designs or something if you want."

"Sure. Why don't I run down to the corner and get us a cup of coffee," Louise said.

"Sounds good," Rory said.

* * *

"Rory?" Jess said, his voice tinged with sleep as he rolled over in bed, feeling the empty spot next to him before sitting up and noticing a bit of light coming from Richie's room, "Rory, is he alright?"

"He's fine," Rory whispered, holding their little boy against her chest, running her fingers through his fine, dark hair. It had been lighter when he was born, but was now darkening to be more like Jess' hair, "I just wanted to hold him."

"It's just after midnight," Jess said, kneeling down beside her as she sat in the rocking chair, glancing at the clock on the wall, "Our little man is officially one year's old."

"Not quite officially yet. We've got a few more hours for that," Rory said.

"You're not going to wake him to tell him that are you?' Jess asked, "I know that's what Lorelai does for yours, but did she really do it when you were this young?"

"She said she did, not that I'd remember. I'm not going to wake him, but I'd like to think he knows I'm holding him and when he's older I can tell him what we did during his early birthdays," Rory said, tears beginning to fall "I can't believe it's been a year already. It went by so fast."

"Hey, what's with the tears?" Jess asked.

"He just grew up faster than I wanted him to," Rory said.

"He's not going off to college, Ror," Jess said, "He's still got a lot of growing up to do. We've got plenty of time for him to be a little boy still. And it's not like he's the only baby will have."

"I know, but he's our first. I know he can't stay little forever and we've still got a lot of years ahead of us before he gets too cool to spend time with his parents, but I still wish we could keep him little forever," Rory said, "He's so precious like this. I could watch him sleep forever."

"Me too. I could watch both of you actually," Jess said.

"Sometimes you do," Rory said.

"How do you know that?" Jess asked.

"I'm not always asleep when you're laying there watching me. I can feel your eyes on me," Rory told him, smiling as she lay a hand on his cheek, "I watch you sometimes, too."

"I love you, you know," he said, turning his head to kiss her palm.

"You're pretty alright, yourself," Rory told him.

"What do you say we get him back into bed and you and I lay down and watch each other not sleep," Jess said.

"Sounds like a plan," Rory said, handing Richie to Jess so he could lay him back in his crib, taking Jess' hand in hers as they walked together back to their room.

* * *

"This looks great, Mom," Rory said with a yawn as they walked into Miss Patty's where they were having Richie's birthday party, "Sorry, I didn't sleep much last night."

"Everything okay, hun?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, I just stayed up for awhile watching him sleep," Rory said, watching her little boy running around with his Uncle Hunter, "He grew up fast."

"They all do," Lorelai said, "It seems like you went from a newborn to school age to a new mother yourself all in the blink of an eye."

"Does it get easier watching your children grow up and become more independent?" Rory asked, "We weaned him off the breast completely when he stopped crawling into my lap and just fell asleep wherever he was. And a couple weeks ago he started insisting on feeding himself. He actually took his spoon right out of my hand."

"Easier? Not entirely. You just learn to accept that you've done your job and now you kid can do things on their own," Lorelai said, "They won't always need you, but if you do your job right, they'll know they can always come to you if they do."

"You did your job the best, Mom," Rory said, giving her a hug, "You still do."

"Thanks, kid," Lorelai said, "Now let's go grab the boys before they're too tired for the party."

* * *

As his family and all their friends in town entered Miss Patty's wishing Richie a 'Happy Birthday' as they saw him, the little boy squealed in delight as the attention on him grew. While all the adults mingled about, Richie continued to play with Hunter and Doula who had joined them, loving to play with her little cousin and nephew. Lane's boys, Kwan and Steve and Sookie's kids all played together close by, joining in when Richie or Hunter would hand them a toy.

"With as shy as you were a kid and as monosyllabic as Jess usually is I can't believe how much of a ham that boy of yours is," Lorelai said.

"I know. He loves being the center of attention," Rory said, taking a seat next to Lorelai as they watched Richie dance around to the music Hep Alien was playing. Every time he stomped his feet or clapped his hands everyone around him would cheer, shouting his name at him causing him to giggle, "If he didn't come out of me, I'd swear he wasn't mine. I'm glad he loves being around everyone."

"It will be good in a few years when he stars school," Lorelai told her, "You were so nervous your first day until Lane came up to you."

"Yeah. I don't see Richie having any trouble making friends. We'll probably have to pry him away from them," Rory said, watching her son and her little brother deep in thought as they planned out their next game, "I love how close they are. It's so sweet."

"It's a good sign of what's to come in the future when you and Jess have another one," Lorelai said.

"Yeah, true. And he gets along well with Doula so if we have a girl it should be okay, too," Rory said.

"I have no doubt that Richie would love a brother or a sister," Lorelai said.

"Well, we've got time still for that," Rory said, "I'm still on birth control for now."

"For now? Are you planning on changing that anytime soon?" Lorelai asked.

"We've talked about it more now that Richie is a little older. We don't want to big of an age gap, but we wanted to wait at least until Richie turned one," Rory said, "Guess we'll discuss it more now and decide if we're ready."

"Hopefully you have a little Lorelai this time," Lorelai said.

"Gotta keep with tradition, huh," Rory said.

"Of course, you need to have someone to pass the cape on to after I bequeath it to you," Lorelai said.

* * *

"How could one kid possibly play with all these toys?" Jess asked, setting the last of the gifts Richie had received into the spare room they had turned into a playroom for Richie, "Did everyone we've ever met buy our kid a present?"

"I think he got at least one thing from every citizen in Stars Hollow," Rory said as she walked towards their room to lay a sleeping Richie in his crib. All the fun at the party had knocked him out on the ride home, "Did you expect any less? He is the town prince after all."

"How do you figure, we don't even live there?" Jess asked.

"Easy, I'm the town princess so my son is the town prince," Rory said, "They just ignore the fact he is also the son of the town hoodlum."

"So, you and Lorelai seemed to be in deep discussion for while," Jess said, joining her on the couch after coming back into the living room, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, she was just asking when we were going to add on an addition to our household," Rory said.

"That's an interesting way to put it," Jess said, "What did you say?"

"That we've talked about it. I told her we wanted to wait until Richie was a year at least," Rory said.

"He's been a year old for eighteen hours, you want to start trying now?" Jess asked with a smirk.

"Oh we can try. We won't be successful until I stop taking my birth control," Rory said.

"Never hurts to practice," Jess said, laying an arm round her shoulder, pulling her to him and kissing her neck.

"No, it doesn't," Rory said, capturing his lips with hers, "You want to go practice now and discuss our future additions later."

"I thought you'd never ask," Jess said, picking her up in his arms, carrying her to their bedroom.

"I can walk, Jess," she said, giggling as he kicked their bedroom door closed, carefully dropping her on the bed.

"This was faster," he said, checking that the door to Richie's room was closed and the monitor was turned on so they could hear him before removing his shirt and laying his body over hers.

"I love you, Dodger," Rory said, running her fingers down his bare chest as he reached behind her to unzip her dress.

"I love you too, Book Tease," Jess said, pulling her dress away from her body, kissing her shoulders and collarbone, "So much."


	28. Chapter 28

**AN:** Happy almost Thanksgiving guys! I've been back from my vacation for quite some time, but unfortunately became quickly busy with my life working in retail (time for that busy season) Vacation was amazing. Even if you're not a fan of One Tree Hill you need to go to Wilmington, North Carolina. It's an absolutely incredible town. And the Blue Ridge Parkway by Asheville is gorgeous! I've been careful not to do any crossover in my stories, trying to keep plots and places the characters go different and in my Rory & Riley series I had Rory and Tristan visit Asheville and go on the Blue Ridge Parkway and I Will Always Be Your Soldier has them spending time in Wilmington, but I may need to find a time to get Rory and Jess down there. Perhaps after baby number two comes along. The beaches down there were gorgeous (we visited four different ones). I can already picture a shirtless Jess running after his children, them splashing in the water as Rory lays on a blanket reading a book. Anyway, time for some Mariano family fluff! Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 28: "I must be delirious,"

* * *

A couple weeks after Richie's first birthday, the three of them were celebrating Jess' thirtieth. He had said when they were planning Richie's party that he didn't want a big celebration. He didn't need a big party with everyone they knew to make his birthday special. All Jess needed was his wife and their son. He woke up that Tuesday morning to his smiling son laying in the bed next to him, his head on his mother's pillow.

"Birfday Dada!" Richie exclaimed, leaning over to give Jess a kiss.

"Thank you son," Jess said, running his fingers through Richie's growing mane of dark curls. His hair had grown a lot in the last few months and Jess wondered how his first haircut would go, but Rory wasn't quite ready to cross that milestone so for now it continued to grow. Jess would let it it be until it got so long it covered his eyes.

"Thanks buddy," Jess said, looking over at the clock on Rory's side of the bed, frowning when he noticed the time. He had slept in until nine. He hadn't slept in that late in a long time, definitely not since becoming a father and especially not since he opened up Truncheon II. He was usually out the door and at the store by now.

"Dada stay," Richie said, climbing onto Jess' lap when he started to move the blanket away from himself and get out of bed, "Mama!"

"Morning, Husband. Happy Birthday," Rory said, coming into their bedroom with a tray in her hands, setting it down on Jess' lap once Richie moved back to her side of the bed and giving Jess a kiss.

"Thank you. This looks great Ror, but care to tell me why our son confined me to our bed and why my alarm didn't go off this morning?" Jess asked, "I'm supposed to be at the store already."

"Your alarm didn't go off because I turned it off when I took your phone so you wouldn't be woken up by any messages wishing you a happy birthday," Rory told him, joining him and Richie on the bed, placing Richie in between them, "And this one was tasked with the job of keeping you in bed so we could all enjoy breakfast together."

"But the store?" Jess questioned.

"Is taken care of. You know all those employees you searched for, interviewed and hired so you could take a day off every now and then," Rory said, "Let them do what you hired and trained them to do. And to help them if they need anything I called April and she said she'd swing by for a few hours this afternoon."

"Alright, so after breakfast, what do you have planned for us?" Jess asked, taking a bite of the pancakes Rory made before feeding a piece to both her and Richie.

"I have a few ideas," she told him, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Any you want to share?" Jess asked.

"Nope. You'll just have to wait and see," she said.

* * *

They did end up going to the bookstore for a few minutes that afternoon. After visiting the old record store Jess took her to when she visited him in New York back in high school, they stopped at a deli to pick up a picnic basket of food before going to Washington Square Park to have a family picnic under Rory's new favorite reading tree. Near the end of her pregnancy Rory spent a lot of time at the park since it was close to Truncheon II and Jess liked having her nearby in case she went into labor early. She could never find a comfortable bench, but there was one tree that fit her ever aching back perfectly. She would take a book with her and read for an hour at a time before Jess would come and help her up so she could stretch her legs. Since they were close they stopped at the store after their picnic to say hello to April and everyone.

After leaving the store they went home to get ready for dinner. Louise had agreed to watch Richie for the evening while Rory and Jess went out so once she arrived they took a cab Uncle Jack's Steakhouse. They took a liking to it after going for their first anniversary and have tried to go back once every few months since.

* * *

Rory's thirtieth birthday came a few months after Jess' and much to Lorelai's disappointment Rory had decided she wanted to stay in the city and just spend the day with Jess and Richie. She understood her mother's disappointment. They hadn't been to Stars Hollow since mid July for a new summer carnival Taylor decided to startup. They were supposed to go in August for Hunter's birthday, but Richie came down with an ear infection and was feeling pretty miserable so they stayed in the city. They weren't able to go to Stars Hollow in September during the end of summer madness festival since it fell during the time New York schools started up again and the bookstore was busy with parents and students buying things they needed or wanted for the start of the year.

Now the Mariano's would not be back in Stars Hollow until Halloween. Lorelai, Luke, and Hunter had been to the city for a day or two over the past few months, but Lorelai insisted seeing them in New York just wasn't the same.

* * *

"Mariano, you home?" Logan asked walking into Rory and Jess' apartment, a sleeping Rory curled up in his arms, carrying her into their living room.

"Logan, what are you…" Jess began, pausing when he saw Logan holding his wife, laying her down on the couch, "Is she okay?"

"Mostly. Nothing major, but she excused herself three times from the meeting this morning to throw up and when I called her on it after she said she was fine," Logan told him, "I insisted she go home. I had to practically force her into the car."

"She's burning up," Jess said, leaning over her to kiss her forehead, "Why didn't she tell me she was sick?"

"You really need me to answer that?" Logan asked.

"Guess not. She's a Gilmore and stubborn as hell," Jess said, "Thanks for bringing her home."

"No problem man," Logan said.

"Now, I just have to figure out what to do with Richie. Taking care of a sick Gilmore is practically a full time job and while he may already be exposed to whatever she's got I'd rather not push it," Jess said, pulling out his phone, looking through his contacts, debating who he could call to watch their son for a couple of days.

"We could watch him," Logan said.

"What?" Jess asked, looking up at Logan with surprise.

"We could watch him. Me and Louise," Logan said, "Louise has watched him before and she and I have looked after my sister's kids before."

"Are you sure?" Jess asked, "He can be a handful and this time it will be more than just a few hours."

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Logan said.

"Okay, well, let me pack some things for him and get a car seat for you," Jess said.

"I've got one, well two actually," Logan told him, "I've had Honor's kids in the car with me on occasion so I just keep them in the car."

"Alright. I'll be back in a minute. We'll you stay with Rory?" Jess asked.

"Sure," Logan told him, taking a seat on the chair across from the couch where Rory was still sleeping, letting out a breath before pulling out his phone to text Louise and tell her about their temporary house guest. Never in a million years did he ever think he'd be here. He never saw himself being friends with Rory again after they broke up let alone being friends with her husband and he sincerely liked Jess. But, volunteering to watch their son so Jess could focus on taking care of Rory, he had to be out of his mind, but he was happy to do it. While weird for him at first when he first saw and held Richie when he was a baby, Logan had grown to love the little guy as much he did his niece and nephew.

* * *

"Hey, Book Tease, how are you feeling?" Jess asked, brushing the hair out of Rory's face that had fallen when she had rolled over.

"Like I got ran over by a truck," Rory said, her voice hoarse and scratchy, looking around the room, "How did I get here?"

"Logan brought you home. You fell asleep in his car and he carried you in," Jess told her, running his lips across her forehead after removing the now lukewarm cloth from her head, "You're still pretty warm. Now that you're up I'll get you some medicine and another cool washcloth."

"Thank you," Rory told him, pulling the blanket tighter around herself as she felt a shiver go through her body.

"Can you sit up a bit?" Jess asked, placing a couple of pills into her hand, sitting next to her to help her sit up, handing he the cup of water after the pills were in her mouth, "Why don't you rest some more and I'll work on making you some soup."

"Luke's recipe?" Rory asked. Early in their relationship when they were kids Jess had come down with a cold and Luke had made him a batch of his mother's chicken noodle soup recipe. Jess didn't care much for the idea of Luke taking care of him as if he were a child, but the soup was delicious. Luke gave Jess the recipe years later when he and Rory had got back together telling him he would need eventually if Rory was anything like her mother when she got sick.

"Would I make you anything else?" Jess asked with a smirk, kissing her forehead again before placing the cool washcloth on her head, "Get some rest. I'll wake you when the soup is ready."

"Thanks, Jess," Rory said, closing her eyes as he walked out of the room, sitting up quickly when she took in how overly quiet it was, "Jess!"

"Are you alright?" Jess asked, rushing into the room, urging her to lay back down as sitting up so fast seemed to make her dizzy.

"Richie!" Rory exclaimed, having realized as she began to close her eyes she didn't hear him in his nursery or the sound of his toys from the living room.

"Logan took him home," Jess told her.

"I must be delirious," Rory said, "Did you say he's with Logan?"

"Yep. He knows what a handful you can be when you're sick and wanting to keep Richie away so he doesn't get sick, too, I gladly took him up on his offer," Jess told her, "He'll be fine with Logan and Louise for a couple of days."

"He does have a niece and nephew he spends time with whenever possible," Rory said, "Richie may even make some new friends if he invites Honor and Josh over or goes to their place."

"Maybe," Jess said, covering her back up, "Now, time for you to relax and work on getting well. I'll be in the kitchen if you need him so just holler or whisper even. I'll take the baby monitor with me."

"Thank you," Rory said, closing her eyes as he kissed her cheek, "I love you, Dodger."

"I love you, too. Sleep well, Book Tease," Jess said, leaving her to rest while he went to make her soup.

* * *

"That was even better than I remember," Rory said, setting her spoon in her bowl after taking her last bite.

"Would you like more?" Jess asked, removing the tray from her lap.

"No, I'm full. I could go for some coffee, though," Rory said, look up at him with a slight pout.

"Not going to work, Ror. No coffee while you're sick," Jess told her, "You need rest, not a caffeine buzz keeping you up. How about some herbal tea with honey? It will help your sore throat."

"Fine," Rory grumbled, reaching for her phone as it lay plugged into the charger on her bedside table.

"What are you doing?" Jess asked, taking the phone from her hands.

"I was just going to text Logan to check on Richie," Rory told him.

"He's fine," Jess assured her, "Logan sent me a video of him 'reading' several of the books from the shelf in his living room while I made your soup. According to the text he sent with it Richie quickly grew bored with the kid friendly ones at his eye level and pushed an ottoman over to the shelf to reach the other titles."

"This is so staged. You asked him to send you this," Rory said, looking at a picture on Jess' phone Logan had sent him, "No child of mine would willingly grab a Hemingway off the shelf, whether he could read the title and knew what he was grabbing or not."

"Maybe not, but he is my child, too," Jess said, "This has officially become my new background."

* * *

"I guess it's a good thing we didn't make any big plans for today," Rory said as she lay on the couch in their living room, curled up under a blanket with her head in Jess' lap as he stroked her hair. She was still running a slight fever, but had been feeling well enough to leave their bed and hadn't been physically sick since Logan brought her home two days prior.

"Not the ideal way to spend a birthday. I'd rather be taking you out to dinner and a movie or whatever, but I'm perfectly happy staying just like this all day," Jess said, leaning down to kiss her lips. He had avoided kissing her the first day or so of taking care of her so he wouldn't get sick, too, but now that she was feeling better and had been taking medicine a few times a day he wasn't concerned with her being contagious, "Happy Birthday, Rory."

"Are Logan and Louise bringing Richie back today?" Rory asked, "I already slept through Mom's phone call, I don't want to go my whole birthday without a hug from my baby. I miss my little boy."

"I know. I do too," Jess said, "It's still early. Why don't you lay here and take a nap while I get all the laundry done. Now that you're feeling better and you're fever isn't so high, I want to get the sheets changed. We'll see how you feel after and then we can give Logan a call, okay?"

"Alright. Can you bring me some juice?" Rory asked.

"No tea?" Jess asked, lifting her head from his lap so he could stand up.

"I'm sick of tea and I know you'll still say no to coffee and water doesn't sound too appealing either," Rory said.

"Juice it is then," Jess said, going to the kitchen and pouring her glass of orange juice, "Holler if you need me."

"Thank you," she said, drinking half the glass before setting it down on the coffee table in front of her and laying her head on the pillow at the end of the couch while Jess covered her up.

* * *

"Mama!" Rory heard, thinking at first it was all in her dream so she turned over, pulling the blanket tighter around her body.

"Shh, Mama's sleeping buddy," Jess told their son, picking him up and carrying him over to the couch, sitting on the end near Rory's feet. He reached up to run his fingers along her cheek, "Rory, time to wake up, babe."

"Jess," Rory mumbled, rolling back over to face him, her eyes fluttering open, "I thought I heard...Richie!"

"Mama!" Richie exclaimed again, trying to free himself from his father's tight hold, not wanting to wait for Rory to sit up.

"Hold on a second, buddy. Let Mama get up," Jess told him, holding him close to his chest with one hand and reaching out the other for Rory to grab onto so he could pull her up to sit next to them.

"My baby boy," Rory said, holding her arms out to him which he quickly jumped into, "I missed you, sweet boy."

"Miss Mama," Richie said, wrapping his arms tight around her neck, nuzzling his face into her chest.

"Was everything okay with him?" Jess asked Logan and Louise, getting up from the couch to join them where they had sat down in the kitchen to allow Rory and Jess a moment with Richie alone.

"He was a perfect little angel," Louise told him, "We enjoyed having him. It gave us practice for the future."

"Are you?" Jess asked.

"No, not yet, but we've talked about it a few times before," Louise said, looking to Logan, who nodded before she continued, "And while I haven't said anything to Rory or even Madeline yet cause she can't keep a secret for anything, we're not doing anything to keep it from happening."

"Good for you guys," Jess said, "Maybe it will happen for all of us and in the future our daughters will be best friends."

"Or our son we'll grow up to marry your daughter," Logan said.

"No. With your history Huntzberger, karma will ensure that you have a daughter first," Jess said, getting a laugh from Louise.

"Hey guys," Rory said, coming into the kitchen, Richie on her hip and his arms still wrapped around her neck, "What did I miss that's so funny?"

"Jess can fill you in later," Louise said, standing up, "We're going to get out of here so you guys can enjoy your day together."

"Richie sweetie, can you give Auntie Louise a hug goodbye?" Rory asked, earning a shake of the head from Richie as he buried his face in her neck.

"Someone really missed his Mama," Logan said, placing a hand on the little boy's back, "Richie, buddy, do you remember what Auntie Louise and I said today was?"

"Mama Day!" Richie exclaimed after thinking on it a moment, kissing Rory's cheek, "Birfday!"

"Thank you sweet boy," Rory said, holding him close to her as he lay his head back on her shoulder.

"Happy birthday, Ace," Logan said, placing a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Happy birthday, Rory," Louise said, giving her as best a hug she could with Richie in her arms.

"Thanks, you guys and thank you for watching Richie," Rory said.

"Anytime, Rory," Louise said before leaving with Logan.

"And then there were three," Jess said, "So, what shall we do for the rest of the day?"

"Hmm, I don't know," Rory said, "Any ideas, Richie? What do you want to do today?"

"Pway," he said, pointing towards his playroom.

"Play it is," Rory said, carrying Richie into the playroom, setting him on the floor before joining him, Richie quickly going to his toy chest and taking out a few items for them to play with.

"So, is this how you imagined spending your birthday?" Jess asked, joining his wife and son on the playroom floor, Richie handing each of them a few blocks so they could start building.

"I could do without the flu bug," Rory said, getting a smile from Jess.

"Definitely," Jess agreed.

"But, this right here, the three of us, I could spend everyday like this," Rory told him.

"Me too," Jess said, taking her left hand in his right, kissing her ring finger as she lay her head on his shoulder, "This is the dictionary definition of a perfect moment."


End file.
